Young Flier
by ProtoRevelation
Summary: For every other pony in Equestria, choice is a blessing on their lives. For Rainbow Dash, choice will always be a burden. Rainbow must act as the bonds between the Mane Six are tested, a filly's trust is needed, and Equestria begins to fall. And it may turn out that a certain high power was actually making sure she was ready for it. Chapter 7 is up!
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

Many ponies say that choice is a great thing with which to be blessed. For me… it will always be a burden. My duty does not let choice off without a consequence. And it makes me wonder why I even fit that role if I was to be stuck with a choice that I didn't want to make.

I only had two options. Two ponies of my interest, two pieces of my life… and I could only choose one. Both meant a lot to me… but to only go with one would ultimately destroy me. And something told me they both knew that.

My first one was somewhat strong-willed. If I ever seeked a challenge, she would always be up to it. She had the aptitude and the guts to take me on, and we always enjoyed the time we had and the games we played… the races we ran and the contests we won. She reminded me of my father: Wanting me to become a strong mare, ready to take any challenge, and to remain fearless, no matter how anything turned out.

My other choice was rather intelligible. She always had a thing for knowledge. Though she could be blunt in her statements, she always seemed to give off a scent of brilliance that only somepony from Canterlot would have. She always seemed at the top of her game, whether it was academic or athletic. And no matter what, she always seemed to believe that I'd always do the right thing. She made me think of my mother: looking out for me, letting me know that no matter what I did with my talents, she'd always be proud of who I was, who I am, and who I forever will be.

It was a difficult choice to make on its own. But when you find that a time limit has been placed on any dilemma, you find that you can't pick easily. It is then that you perceive a third option… to simply abandon either choice and leave it behind. But for me, being the loyal mare that I was, I couldn't let that third option corrupt me. It was what I was fighting. It was what we were all fighting. But even to this day, I still wonder what it would've been like if I had chosen to leave on my own.

And here I found myself standing, stuck in a choice that had no right way out. I could see the sadness and trust in one face, and feel the terror and belief in the other. Their situations were grim, and I was determined to save them as fast as I could… but I could only save one. And it is in that moment when choice seems impossible… that your job requires you to think on a personal level.

The princess would never want me to find myself in a situation like this… where no matter what I did, I would lose someone… permanently, but she wasn't there to fix it. It was only me who could decide… and I didn't want to.

My choices were plain and simple. Who was I going to save? Who mattered more to me… to my friends… to Equestria's fate? But my mind soon moved to a question that made everything even more personal.

Who could I save… Applejack or Twlight?


	2. Mane Memory

_Chapter 1: Mane Memory_

It was only days before that when things were normal. Back before all of the stress over one choice, there were only small problems. Sure, there was the occasional magic bear or the fight amongst cowponies and bulls, but there wasn't anything that truly changed who we were. Nothing could tear me and my friends apart back then. We could simply live, and I loved every day where I knew my friends were fine.

It was after the Grand Galloping Gala when I started to do this routine where I would fly around a boundary that enclosed Cloudsdale, Canterlot, and Ponyville in one loop. I usually used this time to embrace what I had in my life. I had great friends, a place to stay, and a respectful reputation… life was fantastic. I'd always fly with my back to the ground, crossing my hooves behind my head and basking in the passing sunlight.

I also used this loop to check up on each of my friends. Considering I was the Element of Loyalty, I supposed that it was my designated duty to be there for them… even if I sometimes may not have wanted to. But I usually couldn't let that get in my way. My duty didn't care much about choice as I said before.

But I always checked up on each of them in the same order. The first pony was at Sweet Apple Acres, by the name of Applejack.

* * *

_**A few years earlier…**_

_The town looked so regular and peaceful. It didn't have any sort of rambunctious behavior that I was used to perceiving in Cloudsdale. And yet I was alright with it. Sometimes, even an awesome pony like me needed a break from the action._

_Everypony always greeted me when I walked by them. They all seemed well mannered, and, though I didn't usually go for being the "goody four hooves", I liked that there were at least some people worth respecting._

_Now, though this wasn't the first thing that caught my eye, it followed up shortly after: I could make out the shape of a barn far off near the edge of the town. While it did fit in with the town's quaint decor of hay and wood, something drew me to it, so I picked myself off the ground and flew over to the farm._

_When I arrived, I could see several ponies hard at work. Some ponies were busy hauling in carts of apples; others were busy caring to the farm animals and herding them around the fields and the barn; and then there were others who laughed and had a good time._

_But one pony caught my eye: she wasn't hanging out with many of the colts and stallions, but she sure seemed capable of doing so. She had a orange coat, a Stetson set on her blonde mane, small sets of freckles dotted beneath her eyes, and a couple of apples for a cutie mark._

_It was here I realized that this farm was obsessed with apples._

_But she must've noticed me looking at her, because she began to trot straight up to me. I was a new pony there, so I didn't the procedure. I honestly was sort of expecting a formal welcome, but I had to remind myself: this was Ponyville, not Canterlot._

"_Howdy, Sugarcube. What's yer name?" The cowpony said enthusiastically, throwing her hoof out for a shake._

_I didn't expect such nice behavior from farmers, but thankfully I was wrong. I slowly lifted my hoof, placing it against hers. A slow shake began, and I introduced myself._

"_The name's Rainbow Dash. I… see you have a thing for apples"_

"_It's the family moneymaker. Ain't nopony in all of Equestria who'd pass up these here apples."_

_Pulling back from the hoofshake, she reached back and (unsurprisingly) pulled out an apple, bearing a slight shine across its red outer layer._

"_Give 'em a shot! Betcha won't regret it!"_

_As I took the apple and took a bite or two, I could see that she was a very enthusiastic pony. She loved her work, and didn't seem annoyed by company… rather, she welcomed it. And she was probably the most honest pony I had met thus far; the apple was superb._

"_Well, you weren't lying."_

_She slightly shoke her head, a small grin still present on her face._

"_Now, why would I lie to somepony I just met?"_

_I tipped my head to the side in agreement. She had a point._

"_By the way, I don't think I caught your name."_

"_Name's Applejack, partner. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!"_

_Sweet Celestia, those freckles made her look so cute._

* * *

After usually chatting about Big Mac saying little to nothing everyday and Applebloom causing shenanigans on the farm with her friends, I would usually take my leave and venture off to Sugarcube Corner, home of Pinkie Pie.

* * *

_Remember when I mentioned that the barn was the second thing I found? Well, Pinkie Pie was the first thing that I found. Okay, to be fair, she found me, but I met her first nonetheless._

_I had taken my first few steps in Ponyville when I could see a pink pony bouncing my way. I first had to question anypony would bounce instead of trot, but the grand smile on her face, her "cotton candy" mane, pink coat, and the balloon cutie mark were enough to convince me otherwise. Whatever reasons she had, they were ones that couldn't keep a smile off her face for a second._

_Naturally, I went up to her, believing that she would be an excellent pony to help brighten up my first day there._

"_Uh… hi there!"_

_Before I could tell her my name, she instantly spun around in my direction and almost brutalized me with… questions and… stories._

"_Hi! Who are you? Where are you from? Of course, I should know! I've met you before… or have I? *gasp* Are you new in Ponyville? How'd you find it? You're a Pegasus? Are you from Cloudsdale? I know somepony from Cloudsdale. She went into baking class with me. Problem she could only make muffins, so she had to drop out. Hear she's trying to become a mail mare. She still loves muffins though! Do you like muffins? What kind of muffins? Can you eat muffins? Can you eat anything? Want some cake? It's no lie, just letting you know."_

_When she stopped speaking, my mind almost didn't register that she had. My neck had angled backwards, being blown away by the sheer force of her speaking. If she had continued talking, I may have lost my head in the wind._

"_Um… the name's Rainbow Dash."_

_She instantly grabbed my hoof and started shaking it like there was a spider on it._

"_Hi, Rainbow Dash! I'm Pinkie Pie! Oh, mind if I call you Dash? Rolls off the tongue easier!"_

_When she relinquished her grip on my hoof, I began to roll it around and make sure I had enough of a hoof left to walk on._

"_Sure, Dash is fine. That's what most of my friends call me, so… yeah, go ahead."_

"_Wait, does that mean I'm your friend?"_

_She seemed so eager to know the answer, like a puppy dog begging for a treat._

"_Uh… sure. Why not?"_

"_Yay! New friends!" She yelped, engulfing me in a hug. It was here that I could have sworn that lungs had burst. Thankfully, they hadn't._

"_Pinkie Pie…"_

"_Yep?"_

"_Choking… not breathing."_

_She quickly let me down on the ground again. Never thought she, of all ponies, would have the strength to lift me._

"_Whoop… sorry. I do that sometimes. But everypony else doesn't seem to mind it when it happens."_

_I quickly shoke my head, letting my mane flop back into its usual form. Looking back at Pinkie, I met squinted eyes._

"_What's up, Pinkie Pie?"_

"_You remind me of something."_

"_I do?"_

"_Yeah… something that just yells out 'BOOM!' when it happens! Don't know what though."_

_I looked at my flank, eyeing my rainbow lightning cutie mark._

"_Yeah, I can't place it."_

_But I quickly my attention back to her._

"_So, what's with the balloon mark, Pinkie Pie?"_

"_Oh, you should come to Sugarcube Corner! We're having a party there, and even new ponies are welcome!"_

"_What's the party for? Why today?"_

"_Why not today?!"_

_And so I met the lovable party animal… and somehow, I have not gone insane._

* * *

A few cupcakes and crazy remarks later, and I would begin to say my goodbyes to Pinkie Pie. Somehow, I stayed friends with her, even if she was the most hyperactive pony I've ever met… even in conversation. I would wave my hoof goodbye and take a small trot over to the Carousal Boutique, where Rarity worked her fashion business.

* * *

_After eating some apples and talking to Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres, I ventured back towards Ponyville. I didn't expect any more extravagant introductions from anypony else, so I decided to head out. However, something caught my eye: a white unicorn, almost like a marshmallow, with a stylish purple mane. Even her tail was in spirals, and that fascinated me._

_She was in the middle of carrying some materials with her magic. To be honest, I never really cared for magic. I mean, all it seemed to do was make things float towards you, which made me believe that it meant you were really lazy and wanted everything to just come to you instead of putting effort into going and getting it. But then again, this was coming from an athlete, so I let it slide._

_I was about ready to leave when another pony bumped into the unicorn. I could hear her voice sound with disgust as the pony carried on. Her voice sounded almost regal and queen-like. It was almost soothing to hear. But I suddenly noticed that the bump had broken her concentration, and her dresses had fallen onto the grass before her._

_I quickly flew over to help her out._

"_You need help with that?" I asked straight up._

"_Oh… um, I'm sorry. I don't recall us meeting."_

"_Name's Rainbow Dash. I'm new here."_

"_Ah! My name is Rarity. So you're living in Ponyville, are you? What's a Pegasus doing down here?"_

"_Well, I'm really just visiting. Trying to find a suitable place to move my house."_

"_Where is you house?"_

"_It's up over in Cloudsdale. Just have to move it somewhere."_

_I took a look down at the dresses. I could see the unicorn tilt her head down as well, but I quickly picked the dresses up and threw them on my back._

"_I got 'em."_

"_Oh… why, thank you. I only need to bring them inside the boutique around the corner. No need to worry about a long trip."_

"_It's fine. I'm used to them."_

_We began to trot around the path towards the boutique. Even her store had a strong sense of style to its design. Something told me she had a thing for fashion. I just had to make sure she didn't try fitting me for a dress; I wasn't into those big fancy parties that many stallion and mare couples go to. It was way too calm for my tastes. Somehow, Pinkie's parties were more my style._

"_So you have never visited Ponyville before?" Rarity asked me, as we neared the steps to her door._

"_Well, to be honest, I haven't set foot on the ground until about a few days ago."_

"_Really? How come?"_

"_Well, my parents… my dad, really… always thought I should remain in Cloudsdale. But ever since I became my own mare, I took upon myself to try something new."_

"_So you have never truly touched the ground until only recently? That's rather remarkable. I usually see pegasi around Ponyville a lot. It's hard to believe that somepony like you would be secluded from the ground for so long."_

"_It's nothing bad, really. In any case, it's hard to believe the first place I visited on the ground was probably the best place for me."_

"_So you think Ponyville is the place for you, then?"_

_She almost seemed to lighten up when she figured it out. I guess everypony in Ponyville loved a new face._

"_Yeah. I guess so. I don't know why… this place just… I don't know. I guess you could say it's… calling for me, but that sounds so stupid."_

_I started laughing at my idea of the town, but Rarity seemed to be amused by it._

"_I like it when people find what they're looking for… especially on the first shot. It's what helps a fashion pony like me in a major way."_

_She opened her front door, nodding her head for me to go first._

"_Well, I wouldn't get too used to it. This rarely happens with me."_

_And you know what? I wasn't joking._

* * *

Rarity usually had small gripes with her customer's choices for fashion, but she always seemed very strict about it. I guess I can accept that, considering our first showcased dresses almost cost her her reputation. But after some fashion critique, I would head off to the other side of Ponyville, where my long-time friend, Fluttershy, stayed in her small cottage.

* * *

_**Several more years earlier…**_

"_Leave her alone!" I shouted, standing next to a cream colored filly, with a pink hair-do covering her eyes._

"_Oh, what're you gonna do, Rainbow CRASH?" The colt mocked me, trying to get a reaction._

_I saw the other filly shift in posture, and I knew I was gonna have to truly defend her._

"_Keep makin' fun of her and find out!" I shouted back._

"_You think you're such a big shot?" The other colt yelled at me. "Why don't you prove it?"_

"_What do you have in mind?" I replied, forming a cocky smile on my face. I was ready for anything._

* * *

"_Hey, are you okay?" I asked the filly, after the two annoying left to go prepare for our impending race._

_The filly said nothing, and merely hung her head and let her hair cover her eyes._

"_Hey." I insisted as calmly as I could bear._

_I lowered my head down into her eyesight, but she quickly moved away from my gaze._

"_Oh, come on. Did I do something wrong?" I asked._

_She shoke her head slowly and slightly like a fly had bumped into her. At least I got an answer for something._

"_You don't like to talk much, do you?"_

_She shoke her head again._

_I lowered my eyes to the clouds below my feet, trying to figure out how to start this off. I was always a competitive pony… so competitive that being a calm and gentle pony didn't come naturally at all. It was like a war in my mind to hold back what I called "my awesomeness"._

_I looked back at her. Her eyes still remained hidden behind her mane curtain. So I decided to try the gentlest approach I could try… my mother taught me this one._

_I slowly lifted my hoof and moved her mane out from over her eyes. And then I could them: teal eyes, ones that had a serene look to them. Those eyes wouldn't dare hurt anything. That's how innocent and harmless this pony was… they sort of reminded me of my mother._

_She was somewhat shocked with my motion, but I quickly tried to calm her senses._

"_It's alright. There's no need to hide anymore."_

_She slowly lifted her head back up, with one of her eyes being revealed from their seclusion._

_And you know what the best part was? She was one of the funniest ponies I had ever met at that age._

"_So… um… is your name… actually… Rainbow Crash?"_

_I just had to crack a smile. Admit it. You would've, too._

* * *

Ever since that race, Fluttershy and I had maintained a strong friendship. Though she could be a very shy pony, she was obviously in her right mind. It was nice to know that kindness could be hidden in those who wish not to be seen.

After talking with Fluttershy about animal behaviors and such, I would usually venture towards the last stop on my routine flight: Twilight Sparkle's tree house… thingy.

* * *

_**A month or two earlier….**_

_As I flew around Ponyville, I could see Pinkie Pie bouncing along the path, handing out letters to everypony. Pinkie's parties were usually the best ones, but I had planned to practice my moves that afternoon. Even still, I decided to check it out anyway._

_I landed on the path as Pinkie finished up another few letters for ponies. She ran into me and almost looked ecstatic._

"_Oh, Rainbow Dash! I was wondering where you were." She said through a grand grin._

"_You needed me for something?" I asked._

"_I just wanted to give out some invitations. Been looking for you for a few minutes now."_

"_What's the occasion?"_

"_I saw another new pony just after lunch today. These invitations are for her greeting party."_

_I always found the idea of a greeting party weird, even for Pinkie Pie's party standards._

"_Why all these greeting parties, Pinkie? I mean, is everypony really so special in Ponyville?"_

"_Come on, Dashie. You know that's true! I always say that Ponyville is a place where everypony knows everypony!"_

"_Well, do they have to?"_

"_Of course! Otherwise, the saying isn't correct."_

_I was lost in her Pinkie logic. Then again, who wouldn't be?_

"_Pinkie, is that something that all of Ponyville agrees with, or is it mainly you agreeing with yourself?"_

_She merely stared at me with a small grin planted firmly on her face._

"_I don't think I understand the question."_

_Of all the things that don't make sense to her…_

"_It's alright. Anyways, thanks for the invitation, but… I may not be able to come."_

"_Really?! Why not?"_

_She sounded so shocked and sad that I almost hated myself for saying that._

"_Well, I was planning on practicing my moves for the Wonderbolts again. I can try to hurry them up, but I'm not sure if I can."_

_Though the news was sad, Pinkie seemed to regain her smile nonetheless._

"_It's alright, Dashie. You've been to millions of my parties anyway. Maybe a break is what you need." She said to me, bounding along the path again._

_I wanted to go, but as usual, I wanted to follow my dream instead of every other opportunity in my life. And you know what? It was actually fortuitous that I did._

* * *

_One big loop… a few more twirls… now all that was left was the low dive. I had to nearly scrape the ground and continue to fly no matter what._

"_Come on, Dash! You got this! Give it all you got!" I encouraged myself as I began to direct myself towards the ground._

_Slowly tilting myself upwards ever so lightly every few seconds, I closed my eyes and began to simply feel my surroundings. I could register where I was in relation to everything in Ponyville. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to open after a moment's notice._

_I could feel my muzzle run straight into what felt like… another pony! I tried to recover from it, but the shock threw me off and sent straight down into the ground along with the other pony. I then felt something drench me, and I had this feeling it definitely wasn't water._

_Stupid mud, not being like water…._

_Though I obviously didn't favor the landing, I tried to play it off as cool as I could. I tried not to pay the mud much mind. I had fallen in it enough times to not necessarily care. I stood up and tried to figure where I was. Still in Ponyville, on a path I usually took to Rarity's boutique, but then I turned around and saw… her._

_It was another pony I had hit, alright… a mare. She had a light violet coat and dark violet mane, with strands of pink and purple running through it. Her cutie mark (at least what wasn't covered in mud) showed s pink star with a small group of stars around it. The marks reminded me of… a sparkle, in a way._

_She seemed nice and had a neat style to her appearance, but considering she was covered in mud, I just couldn't help but laugh just a little bit. I bent down next to the mare and tried to play it off cool._

"_Uh… excuse me?" I said to her, followed by a small laugh once more._

_And when she opened her vexed expression, that's when I knew it: she was annoyed by me, and I liked the ponies I could annoy._

_And then I thought to myself, 'This must be the new mare Pinkie was talking about. You know what? I might just go there to annoy her.'_

_I remember showing up and thinking, 'I guess a lot of people annoyed her today.'_

* * *

But something different that day. Usually, I would head to Twilight's home, annoy her while she studied for a bit, and then leave. On this day, however, something changed my routine, and this was the start of something nopony could've seen coming… and to think it was because of one simple meeting that changed everything.

That Friday afternoon, only a week after my first Grand Galloping Gala, I ran into Scootaloo.

* * *

**Hello, everypony (don't worry, I'll only do that for MLP related stuff)!** **Hope this wasn't confusing or anything. I'll admit, I was almost lost myself when I read this over, but hopefully you guys can figure out the time of every meeting. If you have questions, just PM me. Of course, I can't answer all of them, especially if they pertain what this story is about or whatever. To be honest, I'm still figuring it out. Even so, questions are still welcome.**

**This is the first time I'm trying anything related to MLP, so please understand any errors I may have made in somepony's character. I only started watching the show three months ago (and was hooked!), but I still haven't really gotten into Season 2 (I know! I'm missing out.). But that's why this takes place just after Season 1 ends… you know, just so I could be safe.**

**Again, if you have questions, let me know in the review box below or PM me. And don't forget to review! Read ya later!**


	3. Because I'm The Best

_Chapter 2: Because I'm The Best_

"Alright, see ya, Fluttershy! Gotta go see Twilight now!" I yelled out to the mare as I ran down the hilly path from her front door.

"Have a nice day, Rainbow." I could barely hear her say as I continued on.

I was about to take off in flight, but I took a moment to consider some peace and quiet. Sure, the sensation of flying everywhere was something I lived for, but I never spent too much time on the ground during those days. Even though I visited my friends regularly, I felt like I was limiting what I did everyday… like I was secluding myself from living.

So I did something I don't usually do: I decided to walk to Twilight's. Sure, it was near the other end of Ponyville, but I felt like I needed some time on the ground for once. I began to walk down the path from Fluttershy's once more and ventured into Ponyville.

Everything was normal that day. Everypony was going about their usual business: Lyra Heartstrings was sitting on the bench in a weird position like always, Colgate was scolding people about their lazy brushing habits, Derpy was arguing with a mailbox… I guess, and Time Turner was showing off this little invention he had made in the center of town. He called it the "Timey-Wimey Detector"… and it apparently "goes ding when there's stuff."

Anyways, I was enjoying the occasional silence I got when I rounded some corners of the town, but also indulged in those small moments where the town seemed alive, saying something to me every so often. It was moments like those, where people greeted one another and helped each other, which made me want to be near Ponyville no matter what. It was such a welcoming town, yet it didn't brag about it.

But that still didn't tell me why my parents wouldn't come down here sooner.

And, as I rounded the corner that turned in the direction of Twilight's house, I couldn't help but notice a small alley on the side of the street. There were the occasional gaps between houses and buildings, but none like this. This one seemed a bit darker, grimmer, and dirtier than any I had seen on the walk over. It was so… mysterious looking. I couldn't place any real reason why, besides the look.

But as I began to let it pass me by, I then noticed something strange: a small piece of paper, which looked like a newspaper, had moved ever so slightly… revealing a small tail.

_What?_ I thought to myself with a shock in my heart, _Since when does a pony not have a house in Ponyville? That's ridiculous!_

But because I felt obliged to acknowledge the pony under the paper, I felt that I needed to help it. What kind of pony would I be if I left someone alone in suffering? Not the awesome one, I can confirm that.

I trotted along into the dark alley, and it didn't seem that anypony cared that I did so. Nor did they look in afterwards. Nopony seemed to acknowledge the place… or the pony in there. Turning back towards the alleyway, I could see the paper clearly: it was definitely a newspaper, and the tail sprouting from beneath seemed almost purple in the lighting of the dank alley.

I lifted up the paper, and… was shocked to see the small filly hiding underneath it: Scootaloo.

Noticing the paper was being lifted, she instantly sprung her head up in wonder, but when she saw me, she almost couldn't move. I could see through her eyes… she felt lost in the situation

"Umm… h-hi, Rainbow Dash." She said with a small stutter in her filly voice.

"Scootaloo?" I asked with absolute disbelief in her being in such a hideous locale, "What are you doing here?"

She couldn't say much. She simply sat up, while looking at the ground in somewhat shame, it seemed.

"What's wrong, Scoots? You know you can tell me anything. I'm Rainbow Dash, remember?"

She simply looked up at me, her eyebrows curved down and her mouth beginning to fall into a frown.

"This is… kinda… where I live." She said finally.

My voice was lost for a moment. This… alleyway was where she lived? How?!

Gaining my speech back, I asked, "What? Why live here? Do your parents know about this?"

She simply stared at the ground again.

"I… don't… have any parents."

I didn't know how to react. So much was thrown at me in only eight seconds that I almost couldn't believe it. But Scootaloo was an honest filly… I knew that much. She couldn't be lying.

"How come? What happened?" I continued on.

Scootaloo almost seemed reluctant to answer, but she somehow gained the courage to speak.

"Nothing really… happened. I was just a filly with no parents… as far back as I can remember. I was in an orphanage for the first few years of my life."

No memory of family. I felt bad for her… at least I knew a little bit about my parents.

"Why are you here then? Shouldn't you be at the orphanage?"

She shoke her head at the ground, but looked up into my eyes before continuing.

"I didn't like it there. All the other fillies made fun of me, and I couldn't take it any more. I had a scooter with me ever since I was in the orphanage, so I simply ran away one day, and didn't look back."

"They made fun of you? Why?"

All Scoots had to do was look at her sides, and I already knew what she was getting at.

"Your wings?" I answered for her.

She simply nodded in response.

"What? Because you can't fly?"

She nodded again.

I was disturbed. I never knew Scootaloo was an orphan. I guess that explained why I always saw her with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and never with an older mare… or stallion for that matter. She was alone, and I hadn't known for weeks since I met her. But I still had questions.

"Why'd you come here?" I tried to ask calmly. I didn't want to seem like I was bombarding her with questions to upset her.

"I thought somepony would want me. This town looked peaceful, and all the ponies seemed so kind. But I never found any place before night came over. I was lost on the paths. I had nowhere to go. So I found this place and curled up here. Fortunately, I got a newspaper for company… though that's really it, besides my scooter."

I prayed for this filly. I truly did. She didn't want her life to be so tragic, and yet it always was. Even when I saw her cheerful smile with the CMC, she was really putting on a face.

"Scoots… I-I had no idea. If I had known you were alone, I would've…"

"It's okay." She attempted to assure me, though her voice sounded weak and shrill. She began to sniff over and over, and I knew she was starting to cry.

"Come here, squirt." I whispered.

I reached my wing out and slid her over to me. As she moved across the hard path of the alley, she began to extend her forelegs out. She wrapped them around me, and I simply laid my head on hers. Scootaloo needed a hug… after all that happened to her. And I was gonna make it up to her somehow.

She pulled away from me, and I picked my head back up. But this time, I had a small grin on my face.

"Say, Scoots… you ever been to Cloudsdale?" I asked.

Rubbing her eyes with her hoof to vanquish remaining tears, she simply said, "No. I've heard of it, but I've never seen it before."

I was almost appalled at her answer.

"Never seen it befo-? Oh, you're so gonna see it!" I replied.

"You'll take me there?" Her eyes began to glisten at the possibility of having me escort her throughout Cloudsdale.

"Of course I will. Anything for a filly like you. It took me a while to come here to Ponyville, but I got here. I say that you should see what Cloudsdale has in store."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her expression went from sad and depressed to joyous and excited… in 10 seconds flat (sorry, couldn't resist)! I was making her the happiest filly to ever live.

"Even better… how about I take you out to my practice field some time? Maybe I can help you start flying?" I suggested.

I could tell it was a dream come true for Scoots. Her smiling mouth was a gaping hole of hope.

"You'd teach me how to fly? Do you think I can?"

"You know it!"

"You really think so?"

And I suddenly got a whiff of Applejack in that moment's notice.

"Now why would I lie to somepony like you?" I asked in response.

Scootaloo tackled me, but I managed to stand my ground. I could feel the warmth of her joy spread across my chest.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash! You're the most awesome pony ever!"

"Thanks, squirt." I began to pet her purple hair, all while thinking to myself,

_Huh… I am the most awesome pony, aren't I?_

* * *

3… 2… 1…

"Special delivery!" I yelled out as I hit the window with enough force to break its lock. It swung open, and a distressed purple unicorn launched herself from her bed. As she face-planted into the floorboards, I couldn't help but laugh my flank off. It was so fun to scare Twilight like that.

"Rainbow," the annoyed mare began, rubbing her head as she stood up once more, "didn't I tell you not to do that anymore?"

I landed in front of her with a grandiose grin spread across my face.

"Did you forget who you were talking to?" I replied.

She rolled her eyes and began to resituate her room. Books were spread all across her desk, and her bed covers had been torn from the bed itself, hanging off the side like a towel on a rack.

"Today some sort of busy day for you?" I inquired.

"Yes, Rainbow. I'm trying to catch up on my studies. All this life drama and Grand Galloping Gala stuff has put a dent on my studying. I need to catch up!"

"Oh, come on, Twi! It's Friday… the beginning of the weekend! Tell me you at least have something fun you plan to do."

It was surprising to see her consider the possibility of something fun for once. Using her magical horn, she picked up her bed covers and spread them out evenly across the bed. Who has time for that these days? In any case, she turned back to me, and I was still awaiting an answer.

"Well, I was planning to do some stargazing later tonight."

And so I lost any hope for Twilight to enjoy any weekend after this one. I couldn't help but facehoof myself.

"There's an egghead thing to do: look through a tube at the sky all night. That sounds… 'riveting'!"

Twilight usually never took a liking to my sarcasm. She began acting like I was no different from her.

"Okay then, what do you plan to do, Rainbow?" she retorted.

I hadn't really given it much thought. I was usually incredibly active on weekends. They were the only times I could actually practice my moves in those days due to my job on the weather team, which was a real shame. But even then, I enjoyed what I got from those small three days of simple living.

And yet, I couldn't see anything significant during this weekend besides my flying, and Twilight already knew enough about that to expect it everything time I opened my mouth. But then I remembered Scootaloo.

And so I began, "I'm… gonna be teaching Scootaloo how to fly."

The unicorn seemed surprised at my answer. My guess is that she never expected me to teach anything to anypony. And I couldn't blame her; do I really look like a teacher?

"You? Teach Scootaloo to fly?" She asked. "Okay, first of all, I've never seen you teach. Secondly, why teach Scootaloo to fly?"

"Because she can't. Don't you know that?"

"Of course I do, Rainbow. But why are YOU teaching her? Why not Fluttershy or Derpy?"

Wait…what did she say?

"I don't know if we know the same Derpy… and besides, Fluttershy doesn't fly too often to really know a whole lot about maneuvers and such."

Twilight took a few steps closer, which made me feel like I was being threatened.

"You didn't answer my question, Rainbow. Why you?"

Her voice was tense, and I could feel that she almost didn't trust me with Scootaloo. My constant recklessness must've been the force behind that.

I couldn't let her question go unanswered, so I went to a common response.

"Because… I'm the best."

She squinted at me. Disbelief was afoot.

"Because you're the best? Rainbow… do you actually believe that you're the best?"

It was such a threatening question for her, but a simple one for me.

"Well, duh! Why wouldn't I?"

"Do you tell yourself that every single day, to the point of convincing yourself it's true?"

I started shaking my head; I felt antagonized.

"I don't have to convince myself. I just know I am!"

Twilight seemed disappointed with my answer. She began to trot back over to her desk and organize her books.

"Dash, I know you think you're invulnerable to everything, but everypony is bound to fail."

I totally brushed off what she just said.

"Well, everypony but m-."

She instantly snapped her head back at me, though her tone wasn't overly aggressive when she interrupted me.

"Rainbow, why can't you just take what I'm saying and believe it?"

And soon a small silence entered the room. But I was able to lead my voice out of its fog.

"Because… that's just who I am."

The unicorn set her pile of books back on the desk and walked back towards me. She planted herself right in front of me, and her face seemed worried yet annoyed.

"It's not always gonna be easy. Someday, you're going to have to make a choice. Whether it concerns your loyalties or your goals, it won't matter. You'll find yourself in a tight spot with no right way out. If you were the best, then you'd always choose the best way out. But no such way exists."

A small breath from my nose came out as I quickly grew a smirk.

"Then I'll make sure it does." I simply replied.

* * *

I travelled back to my house up in the sky. I could never really decide how I felt about my conversation with Twilight. She seemed defensive, as if she was worried I was helping Scoots for the wrong reasons. I believed it to be correct to help out somepony in need. What would be wrong with teaching Scootaloo, a filly who still couldn't fly, how to do so?

And as I trotted through my doorway and began to rest on my bed, I began to see what she might've actually been arguing with me about. It wasn't about me helping Scootaloo; it was about me thinking I was the best… that nothing could topple me. But even then, I still thought it ridiculous. I was happy that Twi accepted the help for Scoots, but I was slightly angered by the fact she didn't think I could live without fear or failure. That's what my life had always been: a life without fear. Why would that change?

Lying on my bed, I tried to ponder further, but I could already tell that the comfort of my cloudy resting place was getting to me. Maybe I could talk to somepony about this. So as I began to fall asleep, I decided to speak to a good friend of mine about this in the morning.

Tomorrow, I'd go see Applejack, to get some insight from somepony who really knew me.

* * *

**Hello, everypony! First of all, sorry for the long wait. I was busy, half planning out the story, other half playing video games and such. However, it was productive, and I've figured out the direction I want to go with this, so I hope you enjoy.**

**I'll tell you what: it wasn't all that easy to orchestrate the conversation between Scoots and Dash. It's hard to write dialogue for a filly. You have to give the feeling within the words that it is in fact a filly saying it. On the other hand, I enjoyed writing the conversation between Rainbow and Twi, who happen to be my favorite ponies. I feel like I missed the direction of the conversation, but I tweaked it enough to satisfy me at the moment. If you guys notice something or are confused about something, just leave it in the review or PM me.**

**By the way, let me know if you caught the "Doctor Who" reference if you have the time.**

**The beginning of this story might be a bit bumpy, but now we have something that could change the grounds for a few chapters: a small question. Though it is small, it could get us a decent way through. Trust me, this story is a lot more than just deciding stuff about Rainbow. It's got more than that. BUT… that shall be revealed in time. In any case, I hope you will continue to read.**

**Again, if you have any questions, just leave them in the review or PM me. And don't forget to review! Read ya later!**


	4. Acceptance & Deception

_Chapter 3: Acceptance & Deception_

_**Several years earlier…**_

_I barged right through the front door, eager to shout my news to whoever was nearest._

"_Mom! Pop! I'm back!" I yelped as I skidded across the floor into the living room. I could see them moving in the kitchen, and their heads spun in my direction. They both began to trot on over, but I scurried over to them, meeting them halfway._

_I launched myself at my dad. He was the one who always encouraged me to try harder in athletics. In fact, he was the one who was responsible for my "tomcolt" personality, as people called it. You see, he truly wanted a colt. But when he got me, he did something rather different: he raised me like a colt. You'd think it wouldn't work out for me, but that's why my mother was there._

_My mother made sure I remembered the qualities of a mare. They were quite reminiscent of what Rarity believed for a mare, except less about fashion and more about their place in the world. She believed I was special. And since I was a filly that was sorta a colt, I had to believe her._

_My father entangled me in an embrace before holding me before his face._

"_What's got you so excited today, Dash?" He asked me, a smile growing on his face._

_But then my mother took a deep inhale and placed her hoof over her mouth. She knew what was so exciting, and she could barely take it._

"_Honey, look…" she simply whimpered, as tears welled up in her eyes and a smile grew on her muzzle._

_My mom lifted her hoof towards me. My father complied and leaned his head around me. And then he saw my flank…_

"_No way… NO WAY!" he grew in absolute joy._

_I was simply waiting for him to say it._

_Speaking through running tears, my father continued, "My daughter… she got her cutie mark!"_

_He squeezed me half to death, and I could feel my mother join in as well. Their warmth only made me feel better about what I had done to get it. And I knew they were wondering why._

_After relinquishing the hug, they set me down on the floor and sat in front of me._

"_How'd you get it?" My mother asked. "What's it for?"_

_I couldn't wait to tell her. I instantly narrated my tale._

"_Well, I was flying around Cloudsdale, going for a little 'jog' in the sky, and I saw two colts pickin' on another filly. So I…"_

"_Oh, please don't tell me you got in another fight." She said with a grave tone in her voice._

"_Relax, honey." My dad said. Then he leaned closer to me._

"_Did you give 'em a good right hoof?" He whispered._

_But not quietly enough._

"_Blitz! Don't encourage that sort of thing!" my mother interrupted._

"_Oh, it's alright, sweetheart." He placed a hoof on her shoulder in comfort. "It's what colts do!"_

"_She is not a colt! She is my daughter!" she firmly responded._

"_MOM!" I yelped, finally ending their tantrums. "I didn't get in a fight. I just challenged them to a race. I wanted to help the filly, so I kept them off of her."_

_She seemed compliant, but not incredibly so._

"_Okay. That seems safer."_

"_So what happened in the race then?" My father inquired._

"_We went off, and as I rounded some corners and began to pass them, I felt a rush of something… awesome. And when I went through this one cloud hoop near the land, I was going so fast that I… I sent out a rainbow! It was an explosion of color, erupting as I flew faster than any pegasus has ever flown!"_

"_So that's what that was!" My father said in regards of my rainbow explosion. "I had a thought that you made that happen! Then again, I thought you were causing trouble… not earning your cutie mark."_

_My father and I chuckled, and my mother was simply overloaded with an abundance of joy._

"_Oh, I'm so happy for you, sweetheart!" She slid me over with her wing, and I gave the biggest hug I could offer with my filly forelegs._

"_I knew you were special, Rainbow! I just knew it!" She whimpered as tears flowed from her eyes down onto my rainbow mane._

"_We all knew." My father added on, joining in the hug._

_It was a good day to be part of the Rainbow family._

* * *

_**Meanwhile, in present-day Canterlot…**_

"Have a pleasant sleep, sister. I will make sure to wake you when the sun needs to rise."

"Thank you, Luna. Keep watch over Canterlot for me."

Luna slowly closed the door shut, as to let her sister, Princess Celestia, fall deep into sleep. Though she was the ruler between the two sisters, Celestia fell under the same rules as everypony else when night fell now; she could finally sleep.

Now, it was Luna's time. Ever since she came back and was reformed, she had begun to feel out of place, with her customs being far different from everyone else in the castle. Thankfully, Celestia took the time out of her busy schedule to lend Luna a hand and teach her the new way of Canterlot. Now, her voice fell with a much more soothing tone, and she did not act too critical of what someone said. She was entirely and utterly innocent… or at least was good at keeping herself under control.

But she still remembered her time as the other alicorn… Nightmare Moon. She despised what she did… trying to capture her sister at the Summer Sun Celebration, trying to hold back the Elements of Harmony from defeating her… and now she was thankful for her sister's warm welcome, despite the damage done.

Luna walked out onto a balcony on the side of the castle. Being the ruler of the night, she had the power to create an extraordinary night sky, unlike anything anypony had ever seen. And now that she was back, she could continue her work on the infinite canvas above all of Equestria.

How thankful she was of her sister for redeeming her for her wrong-doings! Now she was in harmony with the rest of the world, after a thousand years of isolation and captivity. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

She basked in the moonlight beckoning across the land, as if it gave her more power and happiness than sleeping during the day would ever give. Nothing could ruin this moment.

But the next moment… yeah, something ruined that one.

Though she was almost impervious to the real world whilst relaxing in the night's atmosphere, she suddenly got this strange feeling. It felt as though something were calling her. Opening her eyes, which were now filled with caution, she approached the railing of the balcony and overlooked the courtyard.

And out of the corner of her eye, she could see a shadow… zooming quickly among the bushes of one particular side of the courtyard. That area was home to dozens of ancient artifacts and statues, all of which upheld significant points in Equestria's history. But Luna couldn't place why someone would be over there.

It definitely wasn't a guard; they wore big, clunky armor. While it seemed to fit perfectly on them, it still made it hard to move quickly. And this shadow was bolting through the bushes. Furthermore, she decided that the guards probably couldn't help. If this shadow had been going around, and none of the guards had seen it, then what would be the point? In her mind, at least, it made no sense.

So she took a step that could be considered questionable: she decided to confront the lone figure sneaking among the bushes of the courtyard. Sure, it seems preposterous that Luna, a princess of Equestria, would actually do something on her own. But she was a bit more independent, now having learned much from her sister. She wasn't ruler of Equestria, but she was ruler of the night… and nothing was going to disturb this one.

And so she used her magic to teleport her down to the courtyard. Hopefully, she could work this out.

* * *

Luna silently trotted behind the hedges surrounding the arena of statues on the other side. She had followed the shadow here, and she was still getting that strange she had on the balcony. However, it felt much closer than it had before, and it wasn't moving anywhere, so she assumed that this was the shadow's destination. Peeking around a corner that led into the area, she could finally see who had been sneaking around the courtyard this whole time.

It was… another alicorn? Luna could tell it wasn't Celestia, but she didn't know any other alicorns… at least, she hadn't heard about them yet. But even then, this one seemed… different… as if she weren't actually an alicorn. As she focused on it, she could see that its body and even its hair had… holes in them. It was as if the alicorn had taken killer circles to every joint in its body and then some. Its horn was even slightly distorted. Was it hurt? Was it some sort of condition that it was born with? Luna couldn't piece it together in the slightest.

Before she confronted it, she took a moment to hear this alicorn. For some reason, it was talking to a statue… one that seemed awfully familiar to Luna. It was a draconequus… and that was enough to let Luna know that something bad was about to happen. This draconequus was not just a statue… and Luna knew that better than anypony. However, she listened to the other alicorn and found out something new.

"I've finally found you… after years of being in hiding. You have no idea what I have planned, but you can certainly help me with it…"

The alicorn turned in the direction of the hedge's entrance, and Luna ducked her head behind the bush.

"… and so will you." The alicorn continued.

Wait… was she talking to Luna? Did she know she was there?

"You can come out, Nightmare Moon."

Well, that answers that. But… did she just call Luna…

The princess quickly turned around the corner and stared down the other alicorn, who seemed unphased by her sudden movements, her green eyes simply oozing of menace.

"That is not my name! I am Princess Luna!" Luna backfired.

The alicorn seemed slightly amused.

"Oh, calm down, Ms. Moon. I mean you no harm."

Luna began to walk towards her target, her eyes squinting as she closed in.

"Stop calling me that."

The other seemed confused.

"But that is your real name, isn't it? Is that not who you truly are?"

"Shut up! You don't know me!"

The alicorn simply laughed.

"Oh, but I do. Far more than you think."

"Who are you?" Luna grimly asked, for it was a simple question that needed an answer.

"You don't need to know much. Just remember that I am a queen, and we'll get along splendidly." The alicorn answered through a mischievous grin.

Luna didn't bat an eye or falter in any way.

"Who said we were?" she replied.

"Listen, Ms. Moon. I have a lot of important business to attend to, and I wish I could leave right now, but it turns out I'll be needing you to get it done."

"Stop calling me Ms. Moon. That's not my name. It's Luna."

The sounds of cracking could be heard as the queen chuckled to herself.

"You really don't like that name, do you, Ms. Moon?"

Luna was becoming extremely agitated, but she worked to hold back any aggression. She kept asking herself in her head, "How would my sister deal with this?" and she wasn't about lose her sister's trust. More cracking could be heard.

"Why are you even here?"

The queen took a glance at the statue behind her.

"Doing some recruiting. And I desperately need the power of the night by my side. What do you say, Ms. Mo-?"

Luna quickly slammed her hoof down with authority. The queen seemed yet again unphased.

"I'm not… 'Ms. Moon'… not anymore. I have reformed. My sister has helped me come back, and you're not going to bring me back down."

Though Luna was serious in what she said, the queen still simply chuckled in response. Luna fought harder to keep herself under control. Another streak of cracks sounded from nearby.

After a small streak of laughter, the queen returned to conversation.

"Tell me… 'Luna'… do you think your sister actually loves you? Do you think she actually wants you back?"

Luna was taken aback by the idea of the question, but still had the audacity to reply.

"Of course she loves me. Why would she let me take my position by her side if she didn't?"

"Well, think about it… she brings you back into Canterlot… for what? So far, she hasn't let you speak to the public. She hasn't let anyone see you for that matter. Even after being banished for all those years, she still continues to isolate you. Have you not noticed that?"

And then Luna… suddenly didn't know what to think. The idea of her sister not fully trusting her… well, it held some water. But she couldn't believe that… not with the compassion her sister had shown her in making her more likable. She must've simply been going through some training.

"She simply wants me to present a good image. That's why it's taking so long." She responded after a moment of thought.

"Did you notice that… how it took a little while to reply? Some of it makes sense to you, doesn't it? And is that what she's been telling you… that she wants you to present a good image? She is weighing you down with information that only makes you weaker." The queen began to become more compelling, but Luna was still resistant.

"I refuse to believe that!" She angrily responded.

A final series of cracks reached her ears, and she got fed up with it.

"What is that cracking?" She inquired.

The queen turned back to the statue, as a small piece fell from it and landed beside her.

"Ah… he's finally awake." The queen whispered.

The rest of the statue began to fall, and the stone simply pounded itself into dust as it impacted on the ground. But this wasn't what Luna was concerned about… it was what was now on the pedestal. The draconequus… that had been sealed within the statue itself… was now free. It began to stretch its limbs, and let out a yawn. While Luna stared in shock and awe, the queen simply grew a grin.

"Ah, heck!" The draconequus groaned as he stretched out his back. "It was way too uncomfortable in there, not gonna lie! You could've waited 'till I was comfortable to seal me!"

Luna knew he was talking to her.

But suddenly the queen stepped in.

"I've been looking for you."

And suddenly the draconequus grew a slight grin on his face.

"I don't think we've met before…"

He eyed her small black crown, tipped with blue orbs.

"…ah, your Highness."

They seemed to be hitting it off well… but Luna was still there, watching it.

"How did you get out of there?" She asked, now fully cautious.

The draconequus simply stared at her.

"You put me in there. You knew me enough to know how to stop me, so you should know why you stopped me."

And, of course, Luna didn't really follow. But the queen was able to explain.

"Don't worry, darling, I'll explain."

Darling? She seemed to love trying to flatter anypony she met.

Even as Luna questioned her, the queen began to explain.

"I'm sure you are aware of what he can do, Ms. Moon. He is the bringer of chaos. Not only that, but he thrives on it… lives on it. You can figure out the rest."

And Luna simply did. All that arguing with the queen… all the times the wall holding back her rage faltered… every time she replied and with anger… it was all to feed the being within the statue. And that's what the cracks were… the draconequus breaking free from its stone prison. And that's why they happened over the course of the conversation. She couldn't believe it: she had helped free an enemy to Equestria… a hated one.

The knowledge hit her so fast that she couldn't comprehend what was happening. She was lost, didn't know what to do… so she simply did the first thing that came to her mind: run.

She turned sharply behind her and made a dash for the exit of the hedge. But as she made her way over, she heard strange sounds from the bushes, and soon the hedge simply grew out from both sides and slammed together, blocking the exit permanently.

Luna turned back to see the draconequus grinning and chuckling. The mischievous being was cruel with his chaotic tricks. But Luna remembered she could fly, and simply asked herself: _why did I choose to run first?!_

She sprung off with her wings and bolted skyward. But before she even barely got past the hedge, she felt her wings simply sprang and buckle. She let a small shriek as she felt her slam back down onto the ground. She had never broken her wings before… she didn't if an alicorn's wings ever could… but the draconequus's magic was strong enough to do it. She knew that much.

She could hear them walk over to her, where the entrance to the hedge used to be. All she could do was lift her head up and stare at them with terror. She was afraid to do anything… the draconequus seemed to have boundless magical abilities, which had increased since she had last imprisoned him. And the queen… she hadn't done anything to her yet… and that scared Luna to tears.

The queen simply lowered her to Luna's level. Luna tried to move her wings again, but the dastardly magic only waned down more on her wings as she struggled. She felt like she was dying inside, as if night was truly her time to go and never prosper.

"Stop running away from the truth, Ms. Moon." The queen whispered as Luna began to tear up. "You know what is really happening… what Celestia is dong to you."

Luna could only sobbed into the ground, eyes closed, in response.

"Cry all you want…" the draconequus's sinister voice stated, "…but you know where crying can lead to."

Luna's eyes opened as she began to pick her head up. Her tears still fell, but she began to feel… different inside. Like something that was being repressed was suddenly opened back up again… like a closed wound was instantly reopened and began to take in pain long held back. The breaths became controlled, and her eyelids scrunched together again.

"That's right, Luna. Embrace your gift. Join us, and we shall take over Equestria, and teach Celestia how power is truly used."

Luna's eyes opened, her pupils shrunk, and her eyebrows instantly became furrowed. She could feel her vocal chords begin to warp, as if some reverbing presence was now lodged in her throat. The strange feeling transcended into pain. All she could was scream.

"AAHHHHHH!"

The shriek could have leveled mountains. She could feel her wings suddenly snap back, but grow outwards more so. She could feel her body grow as well, almost as large as her sister. She see her coat almost become a liquid black, and her eyes began to sizzle with heat, as if a light were beginning to shine them. She only screamed more. She and the two other creatures knew that they had get out of there before guards came… but thanks to the queen's magic, this was no problem.

She called upon a teleportation spell, even as Luna's shrieks seemed to resound among the heavens. Just as the bushes behind them opened up and the hoofsteps of royal guards was close by, she simply said to her pained victim of deception and persuasion,

"Welcome back, Nightmare Moon."

And with a flash, the evil beings vanished.

* * *

**And that's Chapter 3, everypony! Hope it was something new and interesting for you to read.**

**It took a lot of research to do this chapter… specifically Rainbow's parents, and the two villains of Season 2. I didn't reveal the names to make it more of a mystery. But don't worry, you either know who they are, or will soon find out anyway.**

**I have to say, it was funny making this chapter. If you couldn't tell, the first part was a memory from Rainbow's childhood (obviously), and the second part was what I like to call the "villain perspective". These are always in third person, and are not narrated by Rainbow Dash. Usually, you can tell if there is one via the "Meanwhile in…" Hope this helps for later on.**

**In any case, I'm going to start writing Chapter 4 right after this is uploaded, so expect Chapter 4 by this weekend. If you have questions PM me or post in the review, and don't forget to review! Read ya later!**


	5. Apple For Your Thoughts

_Chapter 4: Apple For Your Thoughts_

That Saturday morning looked like the average Saturday morning in Equestria. The sun was slowly drifting up, and there ceased to be many clouds in the sky. It smelt like a Saturday morning, with the aroma of cupcakes and baked goods at Sugarcube Corner and the smell of burnt meals at the Carousal Boutique… Rarity most likely let Sweetie Belle cook again. It sounded like a Saturday, with the choirs of birds sounding their calls off in the distance near Fluttershy's cottage and Pinkie's crazy statements at Sugarcube Corner.

But one thing was different about this Saturday morning: it didn't _feel_ like a Saturday morning. Normally, I'd spend my Saturdays practicing my tricks and simply showing-off for the sake of pure attention and admiration from everyone. But that conversation with Twilight the other day had made a dent in my plans… a big one at that. Even though I flew away from my home and tried to enjoy the winds blowing blissfully past me, I still couldn't help but feel troubled by her words.

And those words continued to repeat in my head on every flap of my wings.

"If you were the best, then you'd always choose the best way out. But no such way exists."

I kept trying to deny it. Sure, I did respond to her, with the implication of proving her wrong. However, the answer didn't hold much of a barrier up to what Twilight said. That meant that I had to back the statement up… and I wasn't quite sure if I was ever going to.

Every time the words rang in my head, I felt a slight misdirection in where I was going. I sort of lost where I was or what way I should have been facing. Twilight had gotten to me so much that flying was becoming a chore. This was not what a normal Saturday entailed.

Landing on the path to Sweet Apple Acres, I felt different as I began my walk to the entranceway of the farm. Somehow, walking was less of a psychological nightmare than flying. What was up with me today? Usually if Twilight ever did something like this to me, I simply brushed it off. But how could this one phrase harrow me so much that I had walk on the ground to simply hold back the annoying plague it brought upon my flying? Something wasn't right, but I simply hoped that my dear friend Applejack could help me out.

She had just started rolling in a cart full of apples in through the big barn doors. As she shook off the harness for pulling the cart, she popped her shoulders slightly, as if it were a real chore to do her work. And you know what? It was. I tried pulling those carts once, and that job was definitely not for pegasi.

As she fixed the angle of the Stetson on her head, she caught sight of me walking through and gave me a grin. It was the grins I got from Applejack that always made me feel much better everyday. That's why I always visited her first, because she always found a way to make me smile in the morning, as we'd munch on apples and tell stories.

Truth be told, I had always thought Applejack was a cool mare. She had that headstrong sensibility about work that I always had about flying. And whenever we competed, we always ended up staying friends at the day's end. It felt as if we were very much alike each other… maybe too much so. But Applejack knew me: I always tried to be something of a liar at times, and she always caught my "fibbing", as she called it. But I knew her: she wasn't all that good at lying either.

We both knew each other… but it almost felt like we never truly did.

I walked into the barn as Applejack began to sort out the apples in her cart. After a few small pecks towards apples here and there, she turned her attention towards me.

"What's up, Sugarcube?" she greeted me with the same grin as before.

I could never get enough of that phrase.

But even though it had a joyful tone, I simply couldn't hold back the trouble I had been witnessing that morning.

"Nothing much… I'm just… annoyed." I replied.

She was about to head back over to the cart when she heard me, but she instantly turned back to me.

"Annoyed? 'Bout what?" she asked.

That's why I could always count on her; she was one of the few people who actually gave a hoot about my problems, along with Pinkie and Twilight… but Twilight was questionable at this point. Speaking of which…

"It's… well, it's about me." I answered, though I wish I had said Twi instead… made me sound weak.

"You? When are you ever annoyed 'bout yerself?"

I could only shrug in response.

"Listen, can you make a Pinkie Promise?"

She crossed her heart, proclaimed she hoped to die, and stuck a cupcake in her eye. I still don't know what that had to do with promises, but it might've just been for rhyming's sake.

"What's goin' on, Rainbow?" she quickly asked.

I motioned for her to come with me, and I began to walk out of the barn doors. She promptly joined me at my side.

"I was over at Twilight's house the other day, and-."

Applejack was quick to cut me off.

"Oh, apple cider, did she do some weird magic trick on ya or somethin'?"

I let out a snort and shoke my head.

"It sure feels like it though." I noted.

"What happened?"

So I continued, "Well, I was talking to her, and she was saying how she was gonna go stargazing last night, which I thought was boring, and she started asking me stuff. I told her that I was gonna be helping Scootaloo… you know who Scootaloo is, right?"

"Sure do. Applebloom's always spatting out what she did with her friends everyday. She always says that Scootaloo is hot-headed and can't fly for nothin'." She chuckled at her ending comment.

I didn't take any offense from that. It was true; she couldn't fly for anything… yet.

"But what are ya helping the filly with?"

As we reached the fence of the farm and leaned on its wooden bars, I grew a small grin on my face. It was one of the few things that kept me from dwelling on Twilight's words.

"I'm, uh… I'm gonna teach her how to fly." I replied.

Applejack looked at me in surprise, but had an open smile on her face as she heard the words. She seemed happy with my idea.

"Really? I never thought ya to be the teachin' kind." She stated while giving me a playful nudge. I could barely hold myself since I flew that morning, I almost fell like a weight.

"Yeah, well… I also promised to take her to Cloudsdale this weekend. Hopefully tomorrow, if I can talk to Fluttershy later today."

"That's great, Sugarcube. Nice to see ya taking responsibility over something."

I wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment, but I let it slide.

"But why's that gone and pestered ya like a little sister?"

I gave her an inquisitive look, and she seemed slightly confused about it.

"What?" She simply responded. "She can be trouble… more trouble than Scoots, for what it's worth."

I shoke my head as a small smile spread on my face, but quickly continued nonetheless.

"Well, it's not Scoots and helping her that's bothering me… it's what Twilight said when I told her."

Applejack quickly grew slightly confused and agitated at my words.

"Why would Twilight discourage you helping Scootaloo?" she asked in disgust and disbelief.

I turned away from the apple trees and looked over at her.

"That's what I thought… until she continued."

I was waiting for a comment, but all Applejack did was begin to lean her left foreleg against the top of the fence and continue to listen.

"She kept asking if I thought I was the best, and I kept telling her yes. She told me that failure was never an option, but I kept shooting her down. In the end… she just said… if I were the best, then I'd always find the best way out. But she says there's no such thing."

I rested my head on the fence as I peered out at the hills of trees crossing over the grasslands like wildfire. I couldn't help but wonder what Twilight was thinking right now.

Applejack removed herself from the fence and walked up to me. Noticing her arrival, I began to move myself down to her level.

"Well… I'm gonna hafta be honest, Rainbow… you're not really the best at everythin'. Nopony is. Everypony is gonna fail at somethin' at some point, even you."

I could only lower my head in shame. Maybe I was a little too narcissistic the other day.

"However," Applejack began, getting my ears and head to perk up, "that don't mean it's wrong to think ya are. It's called 'optimism': looking at things in life in a positive way, expecting the best out of everything. It ain't no bad thing to think that you're the best, but it's certainly troubling when you can't stop saying you're the best when nopony can be."

I nodded with acceptance. She seemed to be smart on the subject… way too smart. But she always tended to prove good points at times. Maybe it just ran in the family… or maybe it was just her, I couldn't really tell. Either way, it certainly helped.

"Sorry I had to lay it down like that, Rainbow. Thought it had to be said." She followed up.

But I simply shoke my hoof at her.

"No, no… it's fine." I peered down at my hoofs, beginning to feel a burden lifted off my shoulders. "I think I… I think I needed that."

She slowly patted her hoof against my shoulder as she began to walk back to the barn.

"Happy to help, Sugarcube."

And before I left, I heard her say to me as she went back to the barn,

"If I was you, I'd go back to Twi's place… make amends, ya know what I mean?"

I merely smiled at her.

"Thanks, Applejack." I replied.

"It's what I'm here for."

As I turned my back away from the barn, I was readying myself to fly, but I remembered how raunchy this morning had been when I was. I quickly turned that idea down and decided to take a walk to Twilight's home once again. And as I began walking, I got the strangest feeling that I'd be walking on my hooves for a few days.

* * *

The door opened quickly, and I was greeted with the sight of a small purple dragon, a small grin present on his face most likely due to simply living.

"Whoa… Rainbow? Why are you here?" Spike asked.

My eyes were filled with confusion.

"Didn't Twilight say anything about our argument the other day?" I tried to remind him.

Spike seemed to blank at first, but he soon shoke his head feverishly and quickly replied,

"Oh, yeah, yeah. She went on and on about that yesterday. But I was wondering why you decided to use the front door today?"

I could only roll my eyes as the dragon disregarded my presence at my "unconventional entrance" and proceeded to treat me.

"Can I get you anything? Water maybe?"

"Nah, I'm good. I was just wondering if Twilight was still here."

The little dragon's face seemed to fill with relief. I guess he'd had enough of trying to be everypony's butler. I must've been a sight for sore eyes. But he soon regained his composure and tried to keep his joy under control.

"Um, yeah, she's upstairs. Just try not to burn the house down with another one of her conniptions. That'd be great." He added.

"Don't worry, Spike. Nopony wants a crazy Twilight… even if it's amusing to watch." I responded with a smile on my face. I could've laughed, but Spike simply stared at me.

"When you leave, you know I have to deal with her, right?" He tried to explain.

"I hear ya, Spike. Just chill for a bit. For all we know, you could burn the house down."

As Spike grumbled his way over to the library shelves to sort the variety of books that lay haphazardly across the wooden floor, I made my way upstairs and knocked on Twi's door. And I got such a great feeling when I heard a happy voice from the other side.

"What is it?" Twilight called from beyond.

I turned the knob and poked my head through the door's crack. Though Twilight's face didn't change expression, I could tell her attitude towards me as her visitor wasn't a pleased one.

"Oh, hello, Rainbow." She simply greeted.

"Yeah, hi, Twilight." I could only reply.

Before she even turned back to her desk, the mare shot a look at me, and I already knew what she was going to ask.

"Yes, I came through the front door today. I know, it's a step in the right direction."

Twilight seemed impressed that I had already deciphered her message.

"Listen, Twi… I wanted to apologize… about what I said yesterday." I began.

The purple unicorn simply hopped off of her seat and stood only a few feet away from me. Her face seemed skeptical at the truth of my apology, so I simply continued.

"I did some talking with friends… and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not paying attention to the facts and only thinking about me. I shouldn't have toyed with you like that. It wasn't right."

I hung my head in embarrassment. It isn't everyday that you confess to your friend that you were wrong in an argument… especially when it's somepony like Twilight. But I felt a hoof on my shoulder soon enough, and I picked my head up to see Twi looking at me with a grin planted firmly on her muzzle.

"Thank you, Rainbow." She said to me, and I relished in the fact that we were once again on good terms. But she had more to say. "And just so you know… I love that you're helping Scootaloo. It's a bold move to take somepony like her… so young and fragile… under your wing, but it's the right move. I don't resent that move; I simply wanted the move to be backed up for the right reasons."

I nodded in agreement. It was about all I could do.

"So what do you plan to do with her this weekend?" She inquired.

My attitude instantly perked up with enthusiasm. Now I could forget about the weight of her statement, and it almost felt like my wings let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I'm gonna to take her to Cloudsdale tomorrow. I plan to get Fluttershy to come too. She's taken care of Scoots before, so I figure she can give me tips as we go."

Every word seemed to make Twilight happier. It was as if I was fulfilling her expectations or something. But she was a close friend of mine, so her loving this new decision wasn't entirely strange behavior.

"That's fantastic, Rainbow! I'm happy for you. I can't wait to see Scootaloo flying around up there. Who knows… she could win the next Young Flier's competition if you're not careful!"

The laughs continued, and I noticed how free Twilight seemed to be now that I had apologized. She seemed almost jovial and excitable… not as much as Pinkie Pie, but she was halfway there. It was interesting to see a different side of her, even if it was only for a few seconds.

But I quickly turned the conversation towards her egghead personality to shift the spotlight for once.

"So what about that stargazing last night?" I said sarcastically. "Any exciting thrills fall from the sky?"

Twi rolled her eyes, but released a chuckle alongside them. She hopped back onto her seat, keeping her eyes on me as she spoke.

"Well, nothing much from the sky… but I did see some lights over in Canterlot at one point. That's about as exciting as it got."

"Canterlot, huh? Hmm, wonder what Celestia's doing over there?" I commented.

"Who knows? She hasn't said anything to me yet." Twilight said, her eyes shifting back to her books, which still were sprawled all across her desk. She wasn't kidding when she said she had studying to do.

But as soon as silence fell in the room, we both heard a burp sound from downstairs. The purple mare and I both knew what that meant: Spike had just received a letter. Twilight and I trotted to the door and peeked out to check on Spike. We could see the small dragon begin to hurry from the downstairs shelves over to the stairway. I went out with Twi to meet him halfway.

"What's going on, Spike?" I asked with curiosity. Though it wasn't any of my business, I asked nonetheless.

He popped the letter's seal and rolled it out for a quick reading.

"Dear Twilight," Spike recited, "I'm quite aware that you are busy relocating your studies as I write this letter, but I must inquire something of the highest importance of you. Last night, something strange happened in Canterlot. No one knows what has happened, and I am quite worried for our sake. All that was reported was a bright light and nothing more. It seems like a strange occurrence, but I can see that something inevitable is on the horizon. Therefore, I must ask a favor of you that has been long unattended to. It was not your fault, Twilight. I only forgot to ask you: could you please send your friend Rainbow Dash to Canterlot as soon as possible? This concerns her greatly. I'm sure you will accomplish this easily enough. Most sincerely, Princess Celestia."

Twilight seemed surprised at the letter, but my mouth was agape. What could the dumb light show that Twilight saw at Canterlot have anything to do with me? It was ridiculous!

"Well," Spike said in response to the letter's contents, "I guess Rainbow's gonna go to Canterlot now."

I was still trying to comprehend the letter in my head, but I found the urge to speak.

"I know that… but why me?" I could only ask.

"Beats me." Spike replied.

"Whatever's going on," Twilight reasoned, "Celestia must have a good reason to want you at Canterlot. I'd hurry if I were you, Rainbow."

"So you don't know why she's wants there either?"

And then Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but she seemed to flinch, quickly holding back her initial response. A moment later, she decided to try again.

"Well, she has her reasons. I'm sure she'll explain. I have no clue what she's getting at."

Though the flinch in conversation intrigued me, I had to let it slide. If the Princess needed you, you didn't just say no.

"Okay…" I said, beginning to lift off with my wings and hover to the front door. "Well, I guess I'm going to Canterlot. See you later tonight, Twi. I'll tell you all about it when I get back!"

And so I zoomed through the doorway and out over Ponyville, headed to the grand city of Canterlot. But this time, there was no dancing, no Wonderbolts, no pie… just Princess Celestia and me.

I didn't know what Twilight was flinching for or why Celestia wanted me of all ponies, but I was sure to get some answers soon enough.

* * *

**Hello, everypony! Sorry for such a long wait. Skyrim has been taking up my time (because it's addicting!), and I've also been getting stuff for school, which actually starts next weekend for me… or at least preseason for sports does. In any case, I'm sorry for the wait. However, I promise to try and write more often. We're getting to some good parts here, so I'll be sure to get a decent ways in. With any luck, I can finish this book by October or November (I already planned out the basic events of it, just have to write it all in detail).**

**I used this chapter to really set up the friendships with AJ, Twi, and Spike. I wanted to be sure that I did each one justice. AJ and Twi were pretty easy to write the scenes for, and Spike was uber easy (it's a boy dragon… seems pretty for a guy like me, right?). And now we're headed into the mystery of what happened in Canterlot (I wonder what it was…). And why did Celestia ask for Rainbow? Why not Twilight or somepony else? And why did Twilight not respond to Rainbow's question immediately? The plot thickens…**

**But I digress. If you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me or post it in the review. Also, if you want to, try and spread this story around. It'd help me get some good and varied feedback. Oh, yeah, and don't forget to review! Read ya later!**


	6. The Center & Agreements

_Chapter 5: The Center & Agreements_

Canterlot… the Cloudsdale for unicorns. I never paid too much mind to the elegance and proper etiquette of the place; there was always too much "royal treatment" stuff that just wasn't my style. I mean, it looked cool… sort of, but it just wasn't anything compared to Ponyville or Cloudsdale. But it did have something that Cloudsdale didn't: the royal palace.

I never really went anywhere near the royal palace. Heck, I never really passed through Canterlot. Maybe a glance or two when I flew around in the mornings, but not much else. Of course, one of the very few times I had been to the palace was for the Grand Galloping Gala that past week. And I will admit… they got some pretty artistic interior decorators.

They weren't many pegasi in Canterlot, so to see me simply flying over the wall over to the palace must've seemed foreign and shocking to the city's horned inhabitants. Now, I'm sure there were earth ponies there, along with some pegasi, but they were only represented as small minorities, and not as abound as the unicorns. But even with the knowledge of how different I was from the people of Canterlot, I still focused on the palace. The princess wanted me, and I wanted to know why.

After a confrontation with some guards about flying past multiple regulations, the princess finally stepped in and let me proceed. We began to walk through the throne room, the stain glass windows only illuminating the room with an godly essence. The princess seemed quite normal in her posture and her facial features when she let me pass through, but now her face seemed troubled, her eyebrows furrowed and her usual small smile reduced to a half frown. Only something horrible would change her attitude.

I was just about to ask her about her troubles, but she soon stopped me.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I sent for you, Rainbow Dash…" she stated, "… so I suppose I owe you an… explanation."

She seemed hesitant at even talking to me… as if she wished this didn't have to happen. I felt that Celestia knew something that I didn't, which was blatantly obvious.

The princess and I continued to walk, and my concerns for my being here only rose as she began to explain herself.

"I felt something last night…" she started, almost whispering to me, "…it was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It felt like someone was toying with the stars… moving the sky. It just… felt different."

She seemed to nearly become personal with me about this. It felt strange (I mean, it's Princess Celestia!), but I put that aside and listened further.

"The guards told me of a huge flash that occurred just around the castle grounds, and also reported that my sister, Princess Luna, had disappeared just last night."

I began to figure out what Twilight had seen. She had just witnessed an extremely mysterious at Canterlot. But what was it exactly? And why was Luna gone?

I stopped at the stairs to her throne, as she continued up and seemed to stare out a nearby window, overlooking the plains of Equestria.

"I fear for my sister, Rainbow. She has only returned as of now. And yes, she has been treated and correctly reformed, but… I fear that she won't be able to take it. Whatever has happened to her, I fear she may be in grave danger."

And I thought it ended there, but it got much more interesting than that. I would've given more input, but I didn't want to interrupt her. It was clear to me that her opening up to me was an extremely delicate matter. She slowly turned back to me, her voice only becoming more worried.

"But another matter troubles me. The royal guards also reported that a stone statue down on the castle grounds has crumbled into bits. They say that the flash happened close by, and that the statue was of a draconequus."

Now she seemed to be making stuff up. I was completely baffled at what she just said.

"Wait, wait… what's a draconequus? What's wrong with the statue falling? Don't all things break and go away?"

"Not everything is supposed to. It wasn't a statue, Rainbow… it was a prison. It has been holding an evil inside its stonewalls for centuries."

"The draconequus?" I quickly tried to confirm.

"Precisely. And now it has escaped. I don't know how… but I feel that it has something to do with my sister's lack of return."

Before she could get anymore emotional with the subject, I had to stop her and ask some questions.

"Princess, hold on! You're telling me all of this… evil, stone prison, Princess is gone - I got all of that… but you still haven't told me why you need me for this. Why tell me?"

A heavy sigh escaped from the princess, and her eyes slowly down at me. I felt so insignificant in regards to her, yet I seemed quite the opposite to her. She seemed lost as to what she was going to reply, but she soon regained her composure.

"You're a very important mare, Rainbow." She replied.

But I shoke my head at her slightly, in disbelief. "How?"

She looked up in wonder, almost as if she saw past the ceiling. "I can see stars… stars that everyone link together. Their fates… their relations… it's all in the stars. Only I can see them. And it was some time before you arrived in Ponyville that I saw a speck amongst the giants. It was different, and I hadn't an idea why. But now the speck has turned into a larger star than I could've thought… and now… now it has become the center of everything."

"What are you getting at, Princess?" I could only ask.

"Rainbow… you've been the center of everything. You've done incredible things, all of which, I'm sure, you adore."

Well, she wasn't lying; I did admit to myself that I was pretty cool, after all. Though Twilight's argument made me start thinking, I still had that narcissistic itch that just couldn't be satisfied.

"I can't tell you everything… but I can tell you that this is your story now. Everything you do will affect Equestria as we all know it."

I felt my smirk grow wider and my legs tense up at the idea of being in charge of it all… but I had no idea what I'd come up against. However, I needed one last detail.

She stood from her throne and began to regain her royal composure once again.

"I request that you keep an eye out for anything that could lead us to Luna. I'm counting on you and the others, Rainbow. Tell them about what happened in Canterlot last night. I'm sure you'll find a way."

But I quickly halted myself from leaving.

"Princess… just one question…"

My confusion hopefully came across to her.

"…Why did you send for me? If anyone is the leader of our friends, it's definitely Twilight. Why not send for her?"

She shut her eyes forcefully, almost cringing at giving an answer. But she tried her best to at least reply.

"I can only say what I said before, Rainbow. You are the center of everything now. You'll figure it out. Now go! See to your friends!"

She was hiding something from me, but I felt that I should wait until later. I was the Element of Loyalty, and I realized that that duty came first. Once this was over, I was sure I would get some more answers… ones that didn't hold back any truths.

I began my departure from the throne room, pondering the reasons behind my arrival. But after exiting through the double doors and trotting down through the foyer, I decided not to dwell on it any longer. If it did anything to me, it only made me more confused and more frustrated.

I quickly returned to my goal: informing my friends. Celestia didn't say anything about telling them of my importance, and I was really tempted to do so. She was holding stuff back from me, so why not see if the others could figure it out? But as I thought about it, they most likely would think I was trying to be narcissistic again, so I detached myself from that thought.

But as I turned my attention to simply leaving the palace, I felt something kinda… twist inside of me. It was extremely swift and quick, but it almost felt like I had lost something inside of my own body. My legs scrambled for a moment, and I almost fell over on my side. Breathing heavily, I looked up and saw that no one truly paid any attention to what just happened. Sure, there were guards there, but they kept faces together like stone… there was no way to get them looking at me.

I quickly looked around the room for anything weird. Celestia told me to look for suspicious activity, and this fit the bill. But it didn't help much. Nothing seemed any different from how it looked before. The stairway down to the foyer looked neat and well kept, the palace doors looked sleek as ever, and the guards stood completely still. I almost gave it up… but then I saw another pony.

This pony wasn't a guard. That was for sure; no clunky sounds or movements from what I saw. But it seemed so strange. I only saw it for a few seconds, before it ducked behind another hallway. From the small glimpse I had, I saw how strangely pale it looked. It seemed to be discolored, forever stuck in this black, white, and gray palette. I knew no other pony like this… except Zecora. But this wasn't her; there weren't any stripes from what I saw.

I was about to head in this pony's direction, but I decided to brush it off. It was probably some magician of sorts who used a spell wrong. I just hoped there weren't any side effects. Though I did feel slightly empty, I'll admit that. But nothing seemed to impact my ability to move, talk, and fly, so I assumed I was in the clear. I escorted myself through the glorious double doors of the palace and brushed across the sky swiftly, back over into Ponyville. My friends were in for some interesting news.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The alicorn's eyes fought to lift themselves up, but she had only a small hole of vision to muster. As she began to expel the numbness that roamed across her body, she tried to move around, but somehow it was to no avail. This made her heart begin to pound, each pulse beginning to wake her up and forcing her eyelids to open.

Her eyes couldn't make out what was around her, but she could feel her body being restrained by something. She shoke as much as she could, but whatever held her back wasn't going to come off easily. The alicorn almost began to feel powerless, her breathing beginning to slow and turn into small sobs. But before tears welled up within her, she heard noises from nearby. It was now when her vision began to work itself out.

Picking up her head, she began to visualize where she was. It seemed like an underground cave, but almost gave off a feeling of a mysterious sanctuary, with multiple candles lining the walls and a ghostly ambience roaming throughout the hallways. The candles gave a orange glow, which bounced off the wall and almost seemed to make the cave shine. But there was darkness left in small spaces, but in such a way that made both light and darkness feel equal.

But this didn't help her. This didn't help the alicorn figure out where she was and what had happened. But as soon as she heard footsteps roll in from around a corner and two figures began to make their way towards her, she began to recall everything.

"Hello, Ms. Moon." The feminine figure greeted with a sinister tone. The other figure, tall and serpentine, let out a small chuckle.

Everything was coming back to her. The garden… the statue… the beating… the pain… the feeling of darkness… the overwhelming presence of… nightmares.

She was no longer Luna, princess of the night… she had forcefully turned into Nightmare Moon, ruler of the night.

She could remember it… she remembered her old self… her old self was still there… somewhere. But now it was covered… covered in this thick coat of dark and everlasting night that never seemed to falter. She remembered the transformation… the pain… the persuasion that made her into this nightmare… and she remembered every little thing they said that made her turn. She remembered it all, but somehow… somehow, she just… let it all go.

"I'm sorry," The feminine figure said with a slightly nicer tone, "I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves, have we?" She whisked her head over to the taller figure.

"I don't believe so." He replied, and then slowly leaned down to Nightmare Moon's level. "You should remember me, but you're not Luna… so I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Discord."

The name seemed familiar to Moon, but somehow the feeling went by. She simply committed his name to her new memory. This figure was Discord.

"And my name…" the other figure said in continuation, "… is Chrysalis… Queen Chrysalis."

Moon did the same with her name as she did with Discord. This other figure was Queen Chrysalis.

"Sorry for the bindings of chains around your hooves, by the way." Discord added in.

Quick as ever, Moon saw her front and back legs chained to two poles on either side of her. She didn't struggle, but she didn't like being locked up. It brought back bad memories.

"Well, actually, I'm not." Discord restated. "You're a real miscreant when it comes to bringing you into evil plans. But Chrysalis says we need you, so I will do my good deed for the day."

The draconequus lifted his palm, and the chains simply dissipated, letting Nightmare Moon fall down onto the hard ground floor of the candle-lit cave.

"I know it must seem harsh of us and distrustful of us to lock you in chains, dear," Chrysalis said, "but we had no clue what would happen when you woke up."

Moon felt this deep inner urge to feel angered at Chrysalis, but, just like all other tangents that seemed to rebel against these people's words, the feeling was swept away with only a moment's notice. She lifted herself up onto her hooves, and stood as well as she could. Something in her head told her it had been a little while since she was like this, so she had to take in what she was and live with it.

She took a breath in through her nose, and exhaled sharply. She opened her sinister diamond eyes and suddenly became confident enough in what she was to speak at last.

"What is your request, my Queen?" she stated, a regal yet menacing tone wrapped around her vocal chords.

Chrysalis snickered at her question. Turning to Discord, she whispered,

"I like her already."

Discord nodded in agreement, a small grin spreading on his face as he and Chrysalis turned back to Moon. Their mischievous eyes seemed to be something that Moon could understand and relate, and it almost felt like she only needed their sinister glares to tell her anything.

"Ms. Moon," Chrysalis continued, "are you prepared to do what we've all wanted since the beginning?"

Moon pondered for a moment, unsure of what she meant exactly. Her Nightmare memories were still trying to come back to her. She inquired,

"What is that exactly?"

And the queen didn't even hesitate in her reply.

"We all have our personal goals. You want your eternal night, Discord wants chaos to reign free, and I… I want to harness the power that should've been mine. Though we aren't common on a personal level, we have one general thing in common: we want to rule Equestria… and we can only do that together. We need you, Ms. Moon. More than you even realize."

Moon was on the verge of not being sure, but as her Nightmare memories continued to flood back in and expel her old Princess Luna persona from existence, she gave her answer.

"I will do as you say. We shall rule Equestria."

Chrysalis grew a smile, and seemed to chuckle within her closed lips. But Moon wasn't finished.

"But if I may, my Queen… what is it we plan to do?" She asked in confusion, though her powerful voice made it sound almost intimidating.

The queen turned away from Moon and began to walk down the hall, but not before giving her answer:

"Getting you was the first step. The second step… involves a little bit of espionage… and tyranny."

* * *

**Hello, everypony! Okay, I'm sorry for the long wait. School is (pardon my French) a big kick in the ass, ain't it? Jeez, it's been, what, like… two or three weeks since I updated? Ah, who knows? Anyhoof, I'm back now, and I'll hope to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. I promise it'll be within the next week.**

**This chapter was actually a little difficult to write. I had to remember who Celestia was like in the show every time when I was writing her dialogue with Rainbow. And don't worry… all that she has said will make sense later… MUCH later.**

**And it was also neat to try out more of the villain perspective this time. If you haven't quite figured it out yet, it would seem that Luna is the ideal perspective for the villains, even though it's third person. She's probably my favorite princess out of any in the show, so I figured… why not give a little spotlight of her own? Hope this is cool for you guys… or whoever is still reading this (Sorry!).**

**Anyhoof, I hope to get the next chapter within the next week! I promise! As always, if you have any questions, PM me or leave them in the review. And by all means, please review! Read ya later!**


	7. Get-Together & Some Help

_Chapter 6: Get-Together & Some Help_

"Alright, Rainbow. What's got ya all excited?" Applejack said, as she sat herself down at the table.

When I returned to Ponyville, I had instantly gone to Pinkie Pie to ask if our friends could all meet at Twilight's library. She kept asking why we couldn't come to Sugarcube Corner, but I knew it was too crowded to talk about any of this stuff. Especially if an evil really was lurking before Equestria, like Celestia was saying. So the library seemed like a more sensible location.

So Twilight set up a table in the bookshelf room (well, one of them, at least), and Pinkie Pie had convinced everypony to get there at once, "on the double-bubble" as she put it. Everypony came and took their seats, and waited for my answer.

"Alright." I began, shifting in my seat before continuing. "Right now, Twilight has been the only pony that is aware of this. But just so you know, Princess Celestia requested for me to come to Canterlot to meet her."

"What was it she wanted? Did she tell you?" Twilight promptly asked, with her curiosity having boiled profusely since we last spoke of this.

"She told me that-."

"Hold on…" Rarity quickly interrupted. "Why didn't she ask Twilight? She is her… protégée… after all."

And I was going to tell her, but after recalling what she had said about me… and my "significant" place in the grand scheme of things, I supposed it wasn't the best idea to unveil it. It would be too far-fetched… so far out of left field that they wouldn't believe me. So I had to cover it up. I guess there's a reason why I wasn't the Element of Honesty.

"…She never said anything about that. And I couldn't ask her. She was quick about everything." I lied, forging it to satisfy their minds… for now.

But I continued on, "Anyhoof, she told me that something strange happened in Canterlot last night." I turned my attention to Twilight. "Twi, do you remember that light you saw up there last night?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" she replied.

"Well," I started, "it turns out that that light was part of something bad. She believes something was there last night."

"Oh my." Fluttershy whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah. 'Oh my' is right. But it's not just the light that's bugging her. She told another piece of news that… at least, now… startles me a bit."

The other five leaned on the table, eager to hear what could possibly startle me, the most narcissistic pony in Ponyville (no doubt). And a gust of air slowly exited my mouth, for I knew that this news could lead to some… extreme… reactions, if I wasn't careful with my words.

"She said… that Princess Luna is… well, she's gone."

And, as I expected, everypony seemed gasp in horror… well, everypony except Twilight. She only seemed confused at what I said.

"Princess Luna is gone? How?" Twilight asked, but never got a direct answer due to the other conniptions taking place.

"Princess Luna?" Pinkie Pie asked, with an unexpected tremble in her voice. "You mean… Nightmare Moon?"

But her question only seemed to make Twilight agitated.

"That's not who she is, Pinkie! Not anymore! Remember the night I came here? We changed her! She's not a villain anymore."

"Now, wait here…" Applejack started. "Just because she don't look evil don't mean she can't stop being evil."

Rarity pitched in and tried to vouch for Twilight.

"Applejack, you saw her when we brought her back. She was absolutely helpless, weeping in her sister's hooves. No evil pony would do something like that."

Applejack seemed somewhat surprised that Rarity would argue against her, considering her face seemed to almost unbelieving of what Rarity had said, her mouth agape and eyebrows lowered only a tad.

"Since when did ya learn how an evil pony acts?" The cowpony raised a decent point. Rarity did pick an argument that wasn't all too helpful.

"Remember at the Gala…" she attempted to answer, though she cringed at her words, "…with that Prince Blueblood?"

While everypony continued arguing, I noticed that Fluttershy was beginning to curl herself into a ball of pink and vanilla yellow, and I could only imagine how much insanity was waning on her will to live.

So I took a step towards what Celestia said I represented: the center. I guess it was time for some leadership.

"QUIET!" I shouted, the yell resounding throughout the library. Everypony at the table nearly fell out of their chairs at my charging voice… so much so that AJ's hat nearly fell in her hooves.

Silence slowly drenched the room, and I was about to reason with my friends when a series of screams and smashes echoed from the kitchen. The sounds of shattering plates and clanging forks and spoons filled my ears quickly and violently. After a moment, Twilight leaned her head from her chair, eyeing the edge of the kitchen.

"Spike, is everything okay?" She asked with increased volume.

I could hear his scaly claws working to bring himself back up to his feet.

"Yeah…" he responded, with barely any breath to say it, "… yeah, I'm all good. Just, uh… just don't start a shouting match again and we may be able to have a clean kitchen for once… just putting it out there."

"That sounds nice…" Fluttershy whimpered, "… though you don't need to. Sorry."

Though Twilight seemed concerned, I quickly shoke it off and began to convince everypony in disagreement (minus Fluttershy, of course).

"Listen, mares, I know Luna was evil once before, but the princess is really frightened by this. She said that she had spent weeks making sure Luna was ready to lead Equestria with her. Now that she's gone, the princess… well, she just seems empty. We need to find her… even if she might have other intentions."

"So we're gonna try n' save a pony who could easily ruled Equestria wit' eternal night? Yeah, ya're not makin' mucha sense."

I was really disturbed that Applejack was disagreeing with me. Our bond was too fragile for me to mess up. I had to stay on even grounds with her… and everypony else in the group… or else we'd just keep fighting. And I never wanted to know what would happen then.

"Okay, yes, it sounds ironic, but I know it's worth it. Besides, this is Princess Celestia's sister. If she does have bad intentions, then the princess can knock some sense into her and reform her a bit more."

And with that, Applejack gave in and agreed.

"Alright, good point. But if this goes south, don't say I didn't tell you so."

"Gotcha, AJ." I replied. Phew, that could've ended horribly. But as I relished in my victory to convince Applejack (and apparently Pinkie Pie, who nodded at AJ's response), Twilight reminded me of something.

"But what about that flash of light, Rainbow? What happened last night?"

"The princess said that it happened in the courtyards of the castle, right in the middle of a garden filled with statues. She said that one of them had broken apart, and that the stone has been sitting on the ground since last night."

"What do a bunch of stones have to do with our Luna problem?" Rarity asked briskly. I was wondering if somepony would say that.

"She said that the statue was actually a prison, holding something evil within it… and now she believes that it has been released, and that it has done something with her sister."

"I think I read about that." Twilight added, shocked at her sudden remembering of such things. It wasn't all too different for her… being an egghead and all. "Both Celestia and Luna had imprisoned it in stone, and it has been like that for thousands of years… until now, at least."

"What did they imprison?" Pinkie inquired. "Some other pony?"

"A draconequus." Twilight simply put.

The entirety of our table, including myself, was baffled at her words.

"I'm sorry, Sugarcube…" Applejack began, shifting her hat further behind her head, "… a drak-onie-what-what?"

Took the words of my mouth, AJ.

Somehow, Twi was convinced we knew what she was talking about, but she realized the truth quickly.

"Oh, sorry. A draconequus is a… well, it's… sort of…"

"Oh, just let it out, darling, we'll surely understand." Rarity encouraged.

"Okay. A draconequus is an… assortment of animals mixed in one. It usually has the head of a pony, and then mixes of different animals for its body, limbs, and wings. It can have parts of a lizard, a griffin, a dragon… even a pony! From what I've read, they all are distinct mixes, and each one did something different. There's not much else, though."

"So…" I tried to make sense of everything, "… we're looking for a mixture of multiple animals in only one? Okay, now… THIS is not making sense."

"It's what my books detailed on the subject." Twi claimed.

"Well, whatever mix of animals this thing is," Rarity attempted to wrap up, "I'm sure Celestia needs all of us to stop it."

It was surprising to see Rarity being up for something like this, but maybe it was the argument over Luna that influenced her decision. I was sure she wasn't up for too much rough and tough stuff that usually came from any adventures we had, but I knew she had the determination that we all needed, and I commended her for it.

"Now that's the idea." I simply claimed.

"Wait, so how are we gonna find it?" Applejack inquired.

I… wasn't too sure about this one. But I remembered Celestia's words about this, so I decided to reiterate them.

"All the princess told me to do was keep an eye out for anything suspicious looking."

"Like Angel not eating his carrots?" Fluttershy quietly suggested.

"Maybe not something that… miniscule. I think she meant anything that was REALLY out there, like… like an upside down house or a… a falling cloud or something."

"Should we really be looking for stuff THAT crazy?" a muddled Twilight asked.

I gave Twi a condescending look in her eyes.

"Twilight, do you not remember the giant… Lunar… bear thing that through Ponyville a few weeks ago?"

She was about to slam me with a counterpoint, but she withdrew her sudden inhale.

"Upside down houses and falling clouds… got it." She returned, yielding to the truth.

"Now, of course, they won't be that significant change. We can already admit that. But we should still look for odd behaviors and such… like Colgate not working at the dentistry, or Time Turner not acting all… timey-wimey."

The others agreed, and we decided have a talk about this later in the week for anything that may have happened. We all stood from our seats, and I watched everypony except Twilight exit the library. I was beginning my walk to the door when I felt that strange, empty feeling again. It grasped at my insides, and I felt that same twist that happened back in Canterlot. But everypony had left before noticing… except Twilight, unfortunately.

"Whoa, Rainbow! What's wrong? What happened?" She rushed through her words worriedly, galloping to my side and placing me on a lone seat at our meeting table. Each move felt strange inside, as if I was growing numb from within. But as I sat there, I started to feel the numbness recede, but Twi still needed an answer.

"I'm alright. Just… going through… daily… pegasus body functions." I excused myself.

"Okay, I know you're lying, Rainbow." Twilight stated quite sternly.

I resisted the urge to tell her, but it began to feel useless to resist. I didn't need another argument among friends.

"Fine… I'll talk." I began to explain. "Up in Canterlot, after the princess dismissed me, I felt… strange."

"How so?" Twi inquired further.

"Well, it was like a… like a surge… some sort of wave that just… went right through me."

Twilight heaved her hoof up to her chin in pondering. Soon, she took a breath in, her eyes squinting at the problem placed before her.

"It sounds to me like some sort of spell." She answered.

"I was thinking that, but do you think it's true?"

Twi turned her attention to me, concern deep within her eyes.

"It seems the most likely," she continued, "considering you were in Canterlot. Besides, Rarity got that same feeling when I gave her wings for the Young Flier's competition."

I let out a small "heh", and then just hung my head.

"Did it ever make her feel… numb inside?" I asked straight up.

And once again, Twilight pondered.

"She didn't mention anything. Hmm… there must be something more to this. I've never heard of any spell like this in my books."

Jokingly, I replied, "Yeah, well… you're not reading the right books."

"Rainbow," Twi remained serious in her questioning, "did anything else stand out when this happened? There must be a detail that we're missing."

I was at a loss for a moment, but soon it came flooding back to me. I forgot about what I had seen… what I had seen afterwards.

"Wait…" I began to answer. "There was… there was another pony."

Twi's eyes and ears shot back up at the sound of my voice, which urged me to continue.

"I didn't get a good look at it, though. It was darting behind a wall when I saw it. But it looked very… different from any pony I've seen before. It was… sort of grayish. There wasn't any real color to it. I didn't catch much else though. I wanted to meet you mares as soon as possible."

Although I felt absolutely weirded out that I was being openly vulnerable with Twilight, it didn't seem to concern her. It was like she was my psychologist or something. The lavender mare pulled me from my seat and escorted me to the door as she spoke.

"How about you get some rest, Rainbow? I'll try and dig up what I can about this spell of yours. I want to help… I just have to figure out my sources and I should be on the right track."

"Okay…" I willingly complied, "… thanks, Twi."

The egghead only threw up a smile.

"Somepony's got to help you, right?" She asked, ushering me out the door.

"See you tomorrow. Say bye to Spike for me." I said in a more glad tone.

"Rainbow says bye, Spike!" She quickly yelped back into the library before turning back to me. And yet again, the sounds of crashing plates interrupted us again.

And all was silence, until…

"Okay, that one was all you, Twilight!" we heard from the kitchen.

Us mares, both snickered at the purple dragon's claim, and we soon said our goodbyes for the day.

But as I ventured from her porch, off into the sky, I began to run a checklist through my head, making sure everything was addressed that I wanted to be addressed. Apologize to Twilight… check. Meet with Celestia… check. Inform my friends about evil suchy-such… check. Yep, everything seemed to be in order. I just had to scoot over to my house and rest for tom… wait a minute.

Scoot… wait, Scoot! Scootaloo! The thought quickly flew through like one of my Sonic Rainbooms. I had promised to take her to Cloudsdale that weekend. I began to panic, but my mind quickly pieced together a solution. The day was Saturday… part of the weekend. The day after was Sunday… still part of the weekend. Yes! I could still keep my promise! But I knew I needed help with taking care of Scoots while up in Cloudsdale, and I knew just who to interview for that spot.

* * *

"Oh, that's so nice of you, Rainbow Dash! Scootaloo is probably so happy right now!"

Fluttershy seemed so glad to hear my news, even if her praise was near a whisper… as usual. But I didn't want to put her down. No arguments needed, right?

"She hasn't been there before, so I figured it was a good idea to try it." I added on.

"I'm sure she'll love it. When are you going?"

"I was planning tomorrow. It's still the weekend, and I'm off that day, so… why not?" I answered.

Fluttershy seemed to enjoy this idea, but I soon remembered the real reason I even came, although simply getting Fluttershy to be open and kind was certainly the thing to do first (seriously, when is it not?).

"Also, Fluttershy… you've had experience takin' care of Scootaloo, right?" I abruptly inquired.

"Oh, yes." She simply responded. "She's always here with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, so it's a mix as to whom I'm paying any attention. But I certainly know what he likes to do."

"Great. Great, fantastic. Listen, Fluttershy… would you mind tagging along with us to Cloudsdale tomorrow?"

"Huh?" She sounded, perplexed by my offer.

That was not the exact reaction I expected from her. Well, at least it wasn't a "no", right?

"You said it yourself: you know all the little quirks that Scoots has, and I… well, I'm just her role model. I'll admit not the best… but I certainly want to do what's best for her, and I don't know how to deal with fillies, so… there you go."

Fluttershy was alarmed at my explanation, but she started to peer down at the floor, which I assumed was her way of helping her think.

"Please, Fluttershy?" I persisted continually. "I promise, this is the last time I'll ask any favors of you."

Fluttershy picked her head and soon grew a smile, her eyes closed as she did so.

"Oh, it's alright, Rainbow. There's no need to worry." She answered, and I began to breathe a sigh of relief, but I was still waiting for the other half. "Oh, and yes, I'll come with-."

Of course, I just had to give her a tight hug. She nearly saved my life with this one, although her instantaneous squee told me I was hugging a little too hard. Quickly relinquishing my forelegs from around her, I could see her slightly frightened by my movement. But when was Fluttershy never frightened by anything so minuscule? Yeah, try and answer that.

"Thank you so much, Fluttershy! You have no idea how awesome this is!" I announced to her.

Though taken aback by my response, she began to gain her neutral stature.

"Oh, I think I have an idea." She replied.

Yeah, maybe I was making my excitement a little too crystal clear.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to lower my voice. "Sorry, Flutters. I've just been getting excited about this ever since she agreed to go. I feel like I'm helping her so much. I just wish her parents could see it."

Fluttershy, though obviously shy, was one of the few ponies that actually listened to what I said and actually wanted to reply.

"It's awful to know she is an orphan. I never knew until you told me." She said in her usual sweet whisper. Seeing my slight depression, she tried her best to remedy it. "Her parents may not be here, Rainbow. That is true. But now she has you, and that's about the best thing anypony could have in their time of need."

Picking my head and ears up, I looked back at the cream-colored mare, who had a sweet grin on her muzzle and had her diamond eyes showing their understanding. Why couldn't more ponies be like Fluttershy?

"Thanks, Flutters." I could only reply.

Though I couldn't say much else, Fluttershy (of all people) wrapped up the conversation perfectly.

"How about we meet at 8 in the morning… if that's all right with you, of course?" She asked, her timid tone beginning to return. To be honest, I was wondering what had happened to that.

But even so, I responded promptly, "Yeah, sure. Works for me. Just meet me at my house, and then we'll go get Scoots. Tomorrow is gonna be a good day, Fluttershy. See ya in the morning!"

I quickly galloped out her door, the joy embedded in my heart beginning to lift me into the skies… and I found it so amusing. As the sun began to set, I realized something slightly interesting. That Saturday morning… I could barely keep myself from falling face first into the dirt. But that evening… I was literally flying with ease. How could trivial matters, like arguments and planning, put such a burden on you? I didn't really know, but I did know that, when tomorrow hit, nothing could go wrong with me.

I felt like I was on top of the world… that nothing could stop me… that I was the best.

* * *

**Hello, everypony! Thank you for reading (and waiting for) Chapter 6 of **_**Young Flier**_**! I glad people are taking their time to read this, and I hope that people will really like it when it's done. Do I think it will be up there with **_**Broken Dreams**_**? Maybe, but it's best not to jump to conclusions. I just want to make a good story that everyone can read and enjoy… though I could accidently make it my best story ever. We'll see in time, I guess.**

**You know what's really hard? Splitting up the attention that a scene needs among six ponies! It was hard to have certain things said, due to the ponies with I was working. Hopefully, I can improve over the course of the story, considering I'll soon be dealing with three or more people in one scene in almost every chapter after this one. Yeah, this could be hard, but how's writing a book fun when you don't have a challenge?**

**Anyhoof, I hope you will stick around for Chapter 7 (which is gonna be 20% cooler, trust me), which hopefully will be up this weekend (which probably means it won't be). Hey, at least I'm being honest. Anyhoof, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me or leave them in the review. And by all means, please review! Read ya later!**


	8. What Comes Up

_Chapter 7: What Comes Up…_

Fluttershy accompanied me as I strolled down the paths of Ponyville, at about 8 in the morning, in search of Scootaloo's alleyway home. At this point, I was hoping she would have a new home by the end of the day, but something told me that wasn't happening. But who said I couldn't hope? Fluttershy, judging by the smidgeon of a smile she had on her face, could see my determination… my hope that Scoots would soon be okay.

We passed by Twi's house, and I directed myself towards the road that followed from her front door. And as I turned and ventured across the dirt path, Fluttershy started to speak of a matter that surprised me a little bit.

"Rainbow?" She began with a frail voice. "Have you had a weird feeling lately?"

You see, this confused me in my mind. Did Twilight tell her about what happened to me in Canterlot? How could Fluttershy have heard of it? Why would it have even been so important for Twilight to tell Flutters? And with that thought, I quickly assumed that the lavender had nothing to do with Flutter's sudden interest.

However, I quickly pieced something together in my head, so I went along with her question.

"A little bit, yeah." I responded, curious about her intentions. "Why the sudden interest?"

The cream-colored mare seemed to cower, but she kept her voice up enough for me to hear.

"Because… I think I felt something strange happen last night."

And soon, my mind roamed the possibilities of what this meant. Did Flutters have the same feeling that I did? That couldn't be right.

"You sure it wasn't another stomach ache?" I commented.

Flutters seemed to take offense, but it was the faintest thread of offense you could even see coming from her.

"No, I'm sure it wasn't." She assured me, sounding slightly more timid than before. "I felt a twist and… it felt like something just left me."

Okay, this was getting creepy. Fluttershy got the same feeling? How? Why Fluttershy and I? And what was making this happen?

"But that's not just it." She continued further, becoming frantic (as much as she could) in her explanation. "Earlier this morning, before I met up with you, I ran into the other mares, and… they felt it too."

This just urged me to stop in my tracks. Why did we all feel the same thing? I'm quite sure it wasn't all at once, but why was it us that felt it? I began to question the logic of the universe at this point.

"Flutters…" I started in desperation, "… are you sure it wasn't a stomach ache?"

She seemed slightly agitated, but replied justly.

"No, I'm sure. Even Angel thought so… though he seems to think that all the time. Anyhoof… I was wondering… do you know what it could be?"

To be honest, I was about as lost as any other pony would've been. Sure, Twilight believed in the possibility of magic, but I was really unsure about that. In any case, I had no place to even start digging.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I don't have a clue. But it's probably nothing major. I mean, we've encountered stuff like this before… like the poison joke, remember? So why think so differently?"

"Well… yeah… I guess." She whimpered.

But I couldn't just shut her down, so I tried to reassure her.

"Flutters… I'm sure this is nothing. Besides, we're still here. We're alive and kickin'."

Though she seemed reluctant in agreeing, she lifted her understanding eyes up to me and nodded compliantly.

"Now come on!" I stated as I waved my hoof towards the street. "We have a filly to take to Cloudsdale!"

We soon galloped down the road, ready to take Scoots on a trip she'd never forget… and one that I'd never forget.

* * *

Scootaloo climbed onto my back, and Fluttershy took her place at my side. We soon readied ourselves – with forelegs bent and eyes narrowed (at least for me, not so much Flutters) – and we took to the skies. Our wings flapped only one or two times, and we were hovering near the clouds… or I was at least. Fluttershy was at a particularly lower (and probably safer) altitude.

"Come on, Fluttershy! Get up here!" The little squirt on my back yelped down at my friend. I raised my hooves to keep steady.

"It's alright, Scoots. She doesn't usually fly up here." I explained. "It's a bit too risky for somepony like her. In fact, she's hated being this high ever I knocked her off of Cloudsdale in that race."

"Wait…" the filly pondered for a moment. "If Fluttershy can't… well, doesn't want to come up here, then how does she get to Cloudsdale?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about her, Scoots." I assured her. Whenever she sees it in the distance, she eventually hovers up here. The place has a way of building courage, so to speak."

"Is that why you've been there so long?" She asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I guess you could say that. But you really have to see it for yourself. You can't really describe it in words."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"You got it, squirt!" I turned my attention to Fluttershy, who hovered far below us, a fair distance above the roofs of Ponyville. "Meet you there, Fluttershy?" I yelled her way.

Though she seemed so small to us from the clouds, I could make out her slight nod, and that was my cue to book it. And when I was zooming through the clouds, I remember checking on Scootaloo and seeing the largest smile I had ever seen her beam. She was laughing while holding onto my cyan coat for dear life. She reminded me of myself… enjoying the rush. I could already this day was gonna be 20% cooler.

* * *

The rainbows flowing over the clouds and down into the land below, the solid formation of clouds that felt like fluffy pillows, the ancient pillars and architecture that lined the halls and gardens throughout the floating city, and the sun beaming its glorious warmth and beauty between all the ramps and buildings of the paradise… it almost swept Scoots off her hooves. It was remarkable to view her – a filly who had ever even touched a cloud before in her life – to take her first step and look absolutely bemused about it.

"I thought clouds were soft and squishy!" She tried to argue. "What kind of unicorn magic is this?"

She was just jumping from place to place, her attention completely focused on the solid land before her. She was hopping up and down on it, noticing its squishy nature, and then landing once again, finding the clouds perfectly solid.

"How is this even real?" She asked me, her eyes absolutely bewildered at the sight of the city's magnificence.

I leaned down next to her, as Fluttershy took her place at my side once again. I let my head down next to hers, and told her,

"You don't have to try and believe in it, Scoots." I simply stated. "It's right here. Just go for it."

She boasted another wild smile, trotting jovially across the clouds, and so we ventured off into Cloudsdale.

"You handled that well, Rainbow." Fluttershy commented, and I was sure she was trying to flatter me.

"Oh, that was nothing." I humbly replied. "It was just something my mom told me."

"Are you absolutely sure you need my help, Rainbow Dash?" My friend asked cautiously.

I almost felt my belief in her dwindle as I turned my head to her. But her slightly fearful expression told me to act otherwise.

"Of course I do, Fluttershy." I guaranteed her. "You're my friend - one of my better friends for that matter - and friends help each other. I helped you with those bullies when we were fillies, and now you can help me make Scootaloo' first day at Cloudsdale more… manageable, I guess you could say. Now we're even."

I put my words down with genuine honesty, and Fluttershy, though her hesitation was clear as day, simply lifted a smile back at me. Our group of friends... they were probably among the last few really good friends she had, and I could see in her teal eyes that every word mattered to her. I suppose it was my duty to encourage her to keep going with me through Cloudsdale that day… I am the Element of Loyalty, after all.

"Okay." She replied with her usual quiet tone. "I guess we are. Oh! We shouldn't let Scoots go too far. She might get lost!"

My eyes popped, as I physically remembered why we were even at Cloudsdale, and I quickly turned my head back around to Scoots, who was still playing among the clouds further up. I took a sigh of relief. What Fluttershy said made me nearly faint (and she probably knew it)! But just before I ventured up to her with Flutters, I turned to my friend with a smirk plastered on my muzzle.

"See? I do need your help."

* * *

Scootaloo was popping breath after breath out of her mouth. Her eyes seemed almost teary and she seemed in nearly utter shock. She stopped for a moment to collect herself, and soon I lowered my head to her level.

"And that's why nopony normally tastes the rainbows in Cloudsdale… usually." I reminded her.

"Gosh… it's so… so… spicy!" She replied innocently.

"Yeah… that's what Pinkie Pie said."

And, for a moment, Scootaloo's face seemed to scrunch just a bit, and I could already tell I just confused her.

"Wait… how did Pinkie get up here? She can't walk on clouds! She doesn't even have wings!"

I shook my head. My usual response for this is… maybe three paragraphs long, so I saved her the trouble.

"Long story. Basically, magic."

The little squirt seemed compliant with my answer, though I'm sure she was still utterly confused.

"Is there anything else we need to show her, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.

Though it seemed like a strange thing to do in Cloudsdale, I decided it was the better thing to do. We had been doing for hours anyway. Why stop now?

"Well, let's have a little more of walk, and then we might call it a day." I suggested.

"Awww!" The orange filly to my right groaned with a hunched back. "But this place is so awesome!"

"I know, squirt! Believe me, I know! Don't worry, I'll take you up when I can. And soon, you'll be getting up here on your own… I promise you that!"

She threw her hooves around my neck, and I could already tell what I was doing for her. She was getting everything she should have had when she was much younger. Now that I'd come along, I had introduced her to a world left unseen in her mind. She was bewildered and delighted every second she was in Cloudsdale, and I felt those same emotions everytime she hugged me.

A hug… always something I wanted, but rarely ever got. Guess the trip worked both ways for us.

Scoots decided to hop on my back, and so Fluttershy and I began to trot along the clouds around the many monuments of the floating city. Scoots had seen pretty much everything she was allowed to see, so it was all about the spectacle of the place now. It was always something, seeing all of these magnificently crafted works of art that act as edifices that reached to the skies.

Scootaloo simply "ooed" and "awed" at every piece of the metropolis, Fluttershy took in the peaceful murmurs of the crowds near us and the swiftness of the wind, and I… noticed something weird.

I was, more or less, doing what Scoots was doing… checking out the buildings, blown away by the majesty of the "palace city of the air". And as I moved my eyes further up the city to the highest point that even belonged to any piece of Cloudsdale architecture, a duo of figures circling the peak, blocked slightly by passing sunrays, continued to catch my attention.

I believed they were other pegasi, simply enjoying the thrills of the city, but I soon began to think otherwise. One of the figures seemed like a normal pegasi in terms of body size, but the second figure was… disturbing. It had a serpentine-like body, which seemed to make a perfect circular curve around the peak of Cloudsdale. Even though this seemed amazing, I was utterly terrified about what it was.

But soon, it dawned on me: Celestia asked me to report anything that was suspicious. I needed to tell her about this. But before I made the jump for Cloudsdale, I remembered that Scoots was still on a trip to Cloudsdale. How the heck was I gonna this off?

I began to lean my head over to Fluttershy to ask for help, but I found myself interrupted. I could hear the voice bellow from above, and I knew that I was too late to even warn anypony about this… though I didn't even know what "this" was.

"Mares and gentlecolts of Cloudsdale!" The commanding voice called from above. I peered back up to see the smaller pegasi figure, opening her arms wide with power. This wasn't anything good.

"Today…" the feminine yet powerful voice continued, "… is the day your city floats… no longer!"

And just like that, they vanished. Everypony exchanged perplexed looks before feeling a tremble within the cloudy surfaces beneath our hooves.

"Rainbow Dash?" Scoots whimpered. "What's going on? What is she talking about?"

Another tremble came, this time much greater. I could feel Flutters shrink into a ball behind me, and I quickly tried to keep myself together. I didn't want to lose my cool in front of Scootaloo, so I had to think quickly.

"Sorry, Scoots…" I began. "I think our next trip's gonna have to wait a little more."

_What did she mean, though?_ I thought to myself._ What she mean that today was when our city would "float no longer?"_

But another tremble came once more, and I could already tell it was the last; I heard cracks of stone and marble above me, and I lifted my eyes to the sight of the legendary pieces of historical of the pegasi… my entire community of ponies… beginning to crumble. And they were to topple over.

And now was the time to move!

* * *

"Fluttershy! Get up… now!"

My voice was very demanding, but Fluttershy fortunately scrambled herself back on her hooves. I turned to her, beckoning for her trust.

"Listen, Flutters! Take Scootaloo with you! Try to help anypony you can, but make sure to get her off of here!" I ordered promptly.

"But what about you?" Fluttershy asked just as quickly, her voice slightly louder than usual (which was understandable, really).

"I move faster on my own." I unfortunately claimed. "I'll meet you mares in a bit. Besides, this is my home, and I intend to help save as much of it as possible."

"Good luck, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo called out to me as Fluttershy began to scamper off through the crumbling city. She sounded so hopeful with each word, as if I was the hero to save us all… and that she believed it.

And as soon as I was sure they turned the corner, I bolted between the first two buildings I could see, and zoomed out onto the other side. As I surveyed my area, I could see ponies stuck under columns of ancient marble, and ponies screaming as their families were left in crumbling homes. I had to try and help. I was loyal… to everyone. I had to be.

I swooped down to the stallion stuck under the stack of marble columns, and I placed fore hooves underneath it. A wave of effort pushed through me, and I found myself beginning to lift it up. Up it went, inch by inch, and the stallion's breathing began to slow its pace. He began to shower me with praise, but I wasn't in a position for it, what with me holding the column only inches above his hooves!

"Move! Now!" I shouted his way. I could his scuffling hooves distancing themselves from me, and I dropped the column back down. My forelegs felt weak, but I still felt the adrenaline rushing through me, pushing me to keep going. There was no time to stop.

I made an impromptu leap into the air and soared around to a building that was close to collapsing. Peering down just below me, I could hear the cries of a young mare, yearning for her family… stuck inside the building itself. Being the athlete I was, I knew it would be a challenge for any normal pegasi… but I could do it in a jiffy.

Her eyes seemed to align with a window spaced over to the right. Swerving over, I aligned myself with the glass pane, taking a quick peek before closing my eyes and bracing for impact. I could see every pegasi in there, huddled together (how convenient). However, looking up top, I noticed that the building was beginning to collapse in on itself, floor by floor. Shooting my head back towards the family's window, I shut my eyes and readied myself to get them out.

Crack! In through the glass I went. Slightly opening my eyes, I moved my hooves out from my body and opened them up wide. Almost instantly, I felt hooves cling to them for dear life, screams of absolute terror as I tore through their home, which was beginning to fall as I blew in. Another window was lined up in front of me, though the wall was beginning to tip off of the building's structure already. With as much grace and strength as I could mix together, I pushed through, knocking the wall off its "ancient architectural" hinges.

I skidded into the cloudland below me, and the sounds of small pats against it told me that the family had made it through too. Peering up from my landing, I could see their scared faces, taking one good look at me… the one who saved them. Soon, faces turned terror into joyful sadness, and the small family wrapped their hooves around me as if I was one of their own.

"Thank you so much, young mare! Thank you!" An elderly pegasus sobbed into my chest.

Looking back, I could see their building crumble into its last few bits, now rubble along the foam of the sky. But beyond the rubble, I could plainly see the mare that was calling for them. And once she saw them wrapped around me, the same look of joyful sorrow accompanied her face.

The family relinquished its hug, and before anypony else could make me hug them again, I shot off over the building's rubble and continued through the perishing city of the sky… MY perishing city of the sky.

* * *

Again and again, I rushed through homes, rescuing helpless ponies among the chaos. I wanted everypony to live, though that's usually everypony's wish when this happens. The problem is this had never happened before. An assault on Cloudsdale had never even been attempted, and so everypony, on that day, saw just how vulnerable we truly were. It was a prosperous city… but not one that was incredibly protected. We were vulnerable, and we now knew it. I just wish we had known it sooner.

This all rang true… so true that when I felt myself standing on the clouds, yet falling to the dirt and ground far below… I almost felt alone, like I was the only one who could ever truly know this feeling ever. Other pegasi may have forgotten, but I never lost it. When your city falls – literally – the memory tends to stay with you… scar you.

As I picked up one last pegasi, the sight of many pegasi either running for more shelter or fleeing from the cloud city entirely filled my eyes as I looked back at the remaining rubble. It all seemed to have worked. My efforts weren't fruitless; everypony had been saved and sent in the right direction.

"Rainbow!" I heard a shriek from behind me.

Peering over my shoulder, I could see a cream-colored mare galloping to my side.

"Fluttershy!" I quickly recognized her. "What's wrong? And… where's Scootaloo?!"

"I don't know!" The frightened mare claimed. "I can't find her! She ran off while I was looking for a way to go!"

"WHAT?!" I yelped, rushing past Fluttershy and inspecting the remains of the buildings. "Sweet Celestia, no! Where could she be?!" Scootaloo!"

"Whoa!" A minute voice resounded across the fields of debris.

"Hold on, Scoots! I'm comin'!"

I burst above the city and found myself steered towards the very cliff of the cloudland. Coming down near the edge, I could Scootaloo just at the tip of it. But there was a bigger problem. The two figures from before were standing in front of Scoots, intimidating her. The pony figure, which had deliberately shadowed itself, seemed to be an alicorn; its horn was now visible. And the serpentine figure… well, it stood tall… very tall.

"Ah, Rainbow!" The alicorn greeted me. "Nice of you to join us!"

"I have no time for greetings." I put bluntly. "You won't lay a hoof on her, if you know what's good for you!"

The two individuals seemed… offended… at what I said. Which never really seemed to make sense back then.

"Oh, don't be silly!" She replied. "Why would we do anything to the poor filly, especially on her first day to Cloudsdale?"

Okay, them knowing who I was and what Scootaloo was doing there… it was honestly creeping me out.

But I noticed the serpent-like figure shifted its position.

"But we do have some choice-words for her…" He mumbled sinisterly under his breath.

Before I could try anything, he swooped his head around to Scootaloo, who was already tearing up at the sight of him.

"FAAALLLLLLL!" He beckoned into her sorrowed face.

And just like that, Scoots weakened in her posture and her balance soon faltered. One slip later, and she had vanished beyond the cliff.

"SCOOTALOO!" I bawled, now galloping over to the edge. The figures seemed to dissipate as I got close, and I was left with more questions than answers once again. Peering over the edge, I saw Scoots flailing towards the ground, and I instantly tipped over the edge and began to soar past each particle of cloud to get her.

But as I began my descent, I noticed something: while Cloudsdale's entire foundation was collapsing, the entire cloud base of it all was falling towards Equestria… which meant that Scootaloo was much closer to the ground than she would have been! That spurred me into further action.

300 feet… pressing my wings down and up… down and up… hoping to reach her soon. I reach my hooves out beyond my muzzle, ready to lift her up to me when the time was right. I was getting closer, but it still felt like a house lay between the wailing filly and me. I just had to push harder… she always believed that I did everyday… now it was time to prove it to her.

200 feet… she was falling fast… I felt like I was flying slightly slower. But she seemed to near me, and I could almost touch her back hooves. But not quite. I could feel the city getting further behind me, but that didn't seem to let me know that I was going as fast as I could've… as fast as I should've.

100 feet… she was right there… right in front of me. I had to take the chance. I grasped her hooves, and instantly she held back her screams. I was there, and now she knew it. Pulling her up to me, she threw her hooves around my neck, feeling forever safe with me. But… unfortunately… she wouldn't be for long

40 feet… oh, shoot! The ground was right there… I could almost smell the grass and the trees… nature's smell never felt so misleading in any other moment. I was moving too fast to slow myself down. I was barely in control of where I was going. So I did the next best thing.

Clutching the orange filly close against my chest, I began to quickly roll my right shoulder underneath me. I was now on my side. But I didn't time it right. I had moved my right wing up near my head, and I was now… five feet from impact.

Ah, haystacks…

Smash! Rolling… grass blades brushing by, dirt rising up… my filly friend had blown away from me… my right side burned with pain… this was not planned well. Roll to a stop… head leaning on the grassy plains… watching the clouds fall in the distance… an orange speck rising among the green… can't focus anymore… my eyes flicker and the lights go out.

I guess it's true. What goes up… must come down.

* * *

**Hello, everypony! I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 7, which… I guess, in a way, is the end of Act 1. I'm not really into using "acts" for this particular story (I used them for Broken Dreams), but I suppose this is where it would end. Seems fitting enough, I suppose. But Act 2 is longer… much longer. So don't you worry!**

**This was probably one of my favorite chapters to write. After so much dialogue and character building, finally… some action! It's been a while since I've written an action scene (Broken Dreams was a better time for stuff like that), but I do believe I'll get back into it through practice, so let's hope for the best. Again, great chapter to write overall. It has a bit of dialogue and action in it, so it works well for me. Now I really want to keep writing.**

**I'd expect Chapter 8 soon, my fellow bronies and pegasisters… or neither, depending on whose reading. You never know. In any case, if you have any questions, please PM me or leave them in the reviews. And, by all means, please review! Read ya later!**


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